South African woman jailed 25 years for importing 5.75kg heroin into Nigeria
A federal high court in Abuja has sentenced a 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, to 25 years in prison for importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria.
Obiora Egwuatu, the presiding judge, handed down the sentence on Thursday after Ann pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of conspiracy to import heroin and unlawful importation of 5.75 kilogrammes of the drug.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said Ann was arrested on July 6 during the inward clearance of passengers aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha to Abuja at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA).
According to the agency, its operatives found 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilogrammes concealed in two bags belonging to Ann.
The NDLEA said Ann had travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja with her three-year-old son, whom it said she used as a cover to evade thorough screening.
The agency said Ann initially denied travelling with checked-in luggage but later admitted ownership of the two bags after operatives established that their baggage tags matched the claim tags attached to her passport.
She reportedly told the operatives that she had forgotten that she checked in the bags.
Ann was subsequently arraigned in suit FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026 before Justice Egwuatu, where she pleaded guilty to the charges.
The NDLEA said intelligence gathered after her arrest indicated that she was linked to a transnational drug trafficking organisation operating along the Cambodian-South African route.
The agency said her husband or partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, was also arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27 while allegedly attempting to traffic 3.2 kilogrammes of an illicit drug to Hong Kong.
In his judgment on Thursday, Justice Egwuatu sentenced Ann to 15 years on one count and 25 years on the other. The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning she will effectively serve 25 years in prison.
Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, described the judgement as a demonstration of the judiciary’s support for the agency’s efforts against drug trafficking.
Marwa said the conviction should serve as a deterrent to transnational drug trafficking organisations seeking to use Nigeria as a transit or destination point for illicit drugs.
He said the arrest of De Jager in South Africa less than three weeks after Ann’s arrest demonstrated the importance of intelligence sharing and collaboration between the NDLEA and its international partners.
Marwa said the agency would continue to strengthen airport interdiction, intelligence-led operations and international collaboration to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks.
He added that anyone, regardless of nationality, caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigeria would face the full weight of the law.
