Court imposes $6m fine on Filipinos convicted of drug trafficking
A Federal High Court in Lagos has imposed a $6 million fine on 10 Filipinos convicted of trafficking 20 kilograms of cocaine from Brazil into Nigeria.
The convicts were arrested about four months ago by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
The Filipinos and their merchant vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, were arrested following the seizure of 20 kilograms of cocaine on board the ship on 16th November 2025.
They were subsequently arraigned on a four-count charge in suit number FHC/L/1232C/25 at the Federal High Court 2 in Lagos.
The convicts, 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, pleaded guilty and enter a plea bargain agreement.
Delivering his ruling on the plea bargain agreement on Wednesday, Justice Ayokunle Faji fined the vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, N100,000 penalty for transporting the illicit substance and a restitution in the sum of Five Million Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand US dollars to Nigeria.
The three principal officers of the vessel who are the 2nd , 3rd and 4th defendants in the case were also convicted and sentenced to pay the sum of N100,000 each and a restitution of $100,000 each to Nigeria, while the 5th to 10th defendants were equally convicted and sentenced to pay N100,000 each in addition to $50,000 each as restitution.
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.
