The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has obtained a Federal High Court order to detain the merchant vessel MV San Antonio, its captain, and 20 crew members following the discovery of 25.5 kilograms of cocaine at Apapa seaport.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, said on Wednesday in a statement that the agency, acting on intelligence, found the illicit drugs concealed in the vessel’s hatch.
The ship had arrived from Brazil on December 6, 2025, and the cocaine was uncovered after the cargo was fully discharged.
Those taken into custody include the vessel’s master, Trofymov Oleksandr, and crew members from multiple nationalities, including Stoychev Sergiy, Bobrov Maksim, Stupnytsky Sergiy, Bitinev Aleksei, and others.
Babafemi noted that this seizure followed a similar interception on November 16, 2025, involving another Brazil-bound vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, which carried more than 20 kilograms of cocaine hidden under its cargo.
In line with international legal procedures, the NDLEA filed an ex-parte application on December 12 before Justice Frida Nkemakonam Ogazi of the Federal High Court, Lagos, requesting the detention of the vessel and crew pending investigation.
The court granted a 14-day detention order and adjourned the matter to December 29, 2025.
NDLEA Chairman Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) said the recent seizure underscored the agency’s determination to prevent international drug cartels and their local collaborators from establishing operations in Nigeria.
