A 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, has been sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison for importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria.
Ann was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75kg were discovered concealed in her luggage.
The NDLEA said the convict allegedly used her three-year-old son as a cover while attempting to evade thorough security screening.
According to the Agency, the incident occurred on July 6, 2026, during the inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha to Abuja.
NDLEA officers reportedly discovered that two bags containing the illicit drugs had tags matching the claim tags attached to Ann’s passport. She had initially denied travelling with check-in luggage but later admitted ownership of the bags, claiming she had forgotten that she checked them in.
The Agency further alleged that intelligence gathered during the investigation indicated that Ann was a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation operating along the Cambodia-South Africa axis, allegedly in collaboration with her husband and partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, who is based in Cambodia.
De Jager was also arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2026, while allegedly attempting to traffic 3.2kg of illicit drugs to Hong Kong.
Following her arrest, Ann was arraigned before Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026.
She was charged with conspiracy to import and importation of 5.75kg of heroin and pleaded guilty to both counts.
In his judgment delivered on Thursday, September 17, 2026, Justice Egwuatu sentenced Ann to 15 years imprisonment on the first count and 25 years on the second count.
The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
Reacting to the judgment, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the conviction as a demonstration of the judiciary’s support for the Agency’s efforts to combat drug trafficking.
Marwa said the conviction reinforces the NDLEA’s position that Nigeria would not serve as a soft landing for international drug cartels seeking to use the country as a transit or destination point for hard drugs.
He added that the subsequent arrest of Ann’s alleged partner in South Africa demonstrated the importance of intelligence-sharing and international collaboration in disrupting transnational drug trafficking networks.
According to Marwa, the swift progression of the case from arrest to conviction also reflects the Agency’s operational efforts and collaboration with the Federal High Court.
He warned that the NDLEA would continue to strengthen airport interdiction, intelligence-led operations and international cooperation to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks.
Marwa stressed that anyone caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigerian territory, irrespective of nationality, would face the full weight of the law.
