The vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, and its crew were taken into custody on Friday after NDLEA operatives discovered 31.5kg of cocaine hidden in hatch 3 of the ship.
Justice Joseph Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos State, has convicted and fined 11 Indian sailors and their merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, a total of $6million over the importation of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria through the Apapa Seaport in Lagos.
The conviction comes barely six months after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested the foreign crew following the interception of the illicit drug shipment concealed in a cargo vessel at the GDNL Terminal, Apapa Port.
The vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, and its crew were taken into custody on Friday after NDLEA operatives discovered 31.5kg of cocaine hidden in hatch 3 of the ship.
The Master of the Vessel, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, alongside 10 other crew members, Bharati Manoj Kumar, Nevage Sandesh Suresh, Pandey Prashant, Nuttu Anand, Akash Babu, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad, Melethil Insaf Rahman, Barla Chantanya Krishna, Prabhasukhan Singu, and Jai Parkash, were later arraigned on a two-count charge in suit number FHC/L/56C/2026 before Justice Aneke.
