Court convicts vessel, 10 Filipinos for trafficking 20kg cocaine
A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted a merchant vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, and its 10 Filipino sailors. It fined the ship and sailors $6 million and slammed
- Convicts to pay $6m restitution
- From Nicholas Kalu, Abuja and Anne Agbi
A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted a merchant vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, and its 10 Filipino sailors.
It fined the ship and sailors $6 million and slammed another penalty of N1.1million on them for trafficking 20 kilograms of cocaine on the ship.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) officers had found the drugs on the ship at the Apapa seaport in Lagos last November 16 and arrested the Filipino.
Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA Headquarters Abuja, Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement yesterday.
He said a four-count criminal charge was filed against them in suit number FHC/L/1232C/25 at the Federal High Court 2 in Lagos by prosecutors led by the agency’s Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Theresa Asuquo.
The statement reads: “The vessel and its Filipino sailors, namely: 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, however, decided to plead guilty and enter a plea bargain agreement.
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“Delivering his ruling on the plea bargain agreement on Wednesday 18th March 2026, the trial judge, Justice Ayokunle Faji, of the Federal High Court 2 Lagos found MV Nord Bosporus guilty for an offence under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act. The judge ordered the vessel to pay N100,000 penalty for the offence and a restitution of $5.350million to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The three principal officers of the vessel who are the second , third and fourth defendants in the case were also convicted and sentenced to pay N100,000 each and a restitution of $100,000 each to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, while the fifth to 11th defendants were equally convicted and sentenced to pay N100,000 each in addition to a restitution of $50,000 each.
“This brings the total fine to be paid to the Federal Government of Nigeria by the vessel and its 10 sailors to $6million and N1.1million as restitution and penalty.”
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) ,described the conviction of the vessel and its crew members “as a resounding victory for the rule of law and a powerful testament to the renewed vigour of the NDLEA in our mission to rid Nigeria of illicit drugs.”
He added: “The imposition of a $6 million fine equally serves as a stark, expensive lesson to international drug cartels and their local collaborators that Nigeria’s territorial waters are no longer a playground for the illicit narcotics trade.
“Let this judgment be an unambiguous signal to every shipping line, vessel owner, and sailor worldwide that if you turn your ships into floating warehouses for illicit drugs, you will not only lose your freedom but also your assets. We have moved beyond mere seizures; we are hitting the syndicates where it hurts most, their pockets and their operational assets.”
Marwa commended the officers and men of the Apapa Strategic Command of the agency for their vigilance in identifying the cocaine consignment buried deep within the cargo of a massive commodity vessel.
This success, coming on the heels of similar convictions like that of the MV Chayanee Naree, he said, “shows that our ‘back-to-back’ strategy is yielding concrete results.”
He expressed appreciation to the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services for their diligence in the prosecution of the case.
“We thank the judiciary for the accelerated hearing of this case. This synergy between the NDLEA and the courts is the nightmare of every drug baron, and we shall continue to strengthen this partnership until the last drug supply chain in Nigeria is dismantled”, he stated.
While expressing the resolve of the agency, Marwa said: “We are not just fighting a crime; we are defending the future of our youth and the security of our nation and in doing this our intelligence networks are getting wider, our technology sharper, and our resolve is unbreakable.”
