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The Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted 10 Filipino seafarers and their vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, for importing 20 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria, imposing fines and damages of $6 million and ₦1.1 million.
The sentence follows their arrest at Apapa port on November 16, 2025, in an operation carried out by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The case filed with lawsuit number FHC/L/1232C/25 was processed by a team led by the agency’s Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Theresa Asuquo.
The ship and its crew—“Eugene Quinos Corpuz, Mark Joseph Jardiniano, Alexis Navidad Evarrola, Francis Gerard Niones Carpio, Franz Jude Mayran, Mahinay Junniel Lagura, Mario Ganiban Malvar, Hormachuelos Lordito Guivencan, Joshua Emmanuel Hufanda, and Edwin Baltazar Reyes”—entered guilty pleas under a plea bargain agreement.
Delivering the verdict, Justice Ayokunle Faji declared the ship guilty under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act.
The judge ordered the vessel to pay a fine of N100,000 for the offense and restitution of the sum of Five Million Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand US dollars to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The court subsequently sentenced each of the crew members, with the three principal officers—listed as defendants 2, 3, and 4—each fined ₦100,000 and ordered to pay compensation of $100,000, while the remaining crew members (defendants five to eleven) were each fined ₦100,000 and ordered to pay $50,000.
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Reacting to the decision, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, described the outcome of the decision as an important milestone in the fight against drug trafficking.
He said the sentence was “a major victory for the rule of law and strong evidence of the NDLEA’s newfound power in our mission to rid Nigeria of illegal drugs.”
He added: “The imposition of a fine of $6 million is also a valuable and expensive lesson for international drug cartels and their local collaborators that Nigerian territorial waters are no longer an arena for illicit narcotics trafficking.”
Marwa further emphasized: “Let this decision be a clear signal to every shipping company, ship owner and seafarer around the world that if you turn your ships into floating warehouses for illegal drugs, you will not only lose your freedom but also your assets. We have done more than just confiscation; we are now attacking the syndicates who have the most to lose, namely their pockets and their operational assets.”
He commended NDLEA’s Apapa Strategic Command for uncovering the hidden cocaine, and stated that the success—which came after similar convictions such as the one involving the MV Chayanee Naree—“shows that our ‘back to back’ strategy is producing tangible results.”
Marwa also praised the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services and the judiciary for their quick handling of this case, and described their cooperation as a major preventative effort against drug traffickers.
He said the “expedited trial of this case” shows that “the synergy between the NDLEA and the courts is a nightmare for every drug lord, and we will continue to strengthen this partnership until the last of the drug supply chain in Nigeria is dismantled.”
Reaffirming the agency’s resolve, Marwa stated: “We don’t just fight crime; we defend the future of our youth and the security of our country, and in doing this, our intelligence network expands, our technology sharpens, and our resolve is unbreakable.”
