Foreigners Arrested for Allegedly Trying to Smuggle Cocaine into Nigeria via Sea

The Nigerian Navy on Thursday said it has arrested 22 Thai seafarers over alleged attempt to traffick 32.9kg of ccaine from Brazil into the shores of Nigeria.

The seafarers who are currently being detained at the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT, Apapa, Lagos, were arrested on-board MV CHAYANEE NAREE, by a joint team led by the Nigerian Navy following an intelligence report from the UK Border Force.

Addressing journalists on the arrest, the commander of NNS BEECROFT, Commodore Bashir Mohammed, said the sting operation was a collaborative effort between the Nigerian Navy and other law enforcement agencies.

Commodore Mohammed said the team, acting on credible intelligence from INTERPOL, it was discovered that the vessel departed Santos Brazil on September 19, 2021 and drifted for a week at a position about 250nm (approximately 500 kilometres) off the coast of Benin Republic from October 1 to October 8 before sailing and arriving Nigerian coastal water on October 8, 2021.

“The search began on October 9, 2021 and at about 6pm on October 13, 2021, efforts of the search team was rewarded when a bag was found in the Vessel’s Cargo Compartment One (VCCO).

However, tests conducted on the contents of the bag by the NDLEA confirmed the substance to be cocaine wrapped in 30 slabs weighing 32.9 kg. Accordingly, the substance was handed over to the NDLEA while further search and investigation continued on every nook and cranny of the vessel,” he said.