Lagos Court Convicts Ship, Crew for Cocaine Import

A Federal High Court in Lagos convicted the merchant vessel MV Nord Bosporus and its 10 Filipino crew members on Wednesday for unlawfully importing 20 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria, imposing fines and restitution totaling six million U.S. dollars and 1.1 million naira.

The vessel and crew were arrested on November 16, 2025, by officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Apapa seaport in Lagos. Authorities discovered the cocaine concealed deep within the ship's cargo after it arrived from Santos, Brazil. The NDLEA filed a four-count charge against them under sections of the NDLEA Act, accusing the defendants of conspiracy and illegal importation of the controlled substance. The case, numbered FHCL1232C25, was prosecuted before Justice Ayokunle Faji at Federal High Court 2 in Lagos by a team led by Theresa Asuquo, the agency's director of prosecution and legal services.

The defendants, identified as 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, initially pleaded...