By Saminu Ibrahim
A 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, has been sentenced to 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 were discovered concealed in her luggage.
The NDLEA said the convict attempted to use her three-year-old son as a cover to evade security checks.
She was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers aboard Qatar Airways flight QR 1433 from Doha to Abuja on July 6, 2026.
According to the agency, Ann initially denied travelling with checked-in luggage. However, operatives established that the tags on two bags containing the drugs matched the claim tags attached to her passport.
She subsequently admitted ownership of the bags, claiming that she had forgotten she checked them in.
The NDLEA said intelligence gathered after her arrest indicated that Ann was a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation allegedly operating along the Cambodian-South African axis.
The agency added that her husband and alleged partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, was arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27 while allegedly attempting to traffic 3.2kg of illicit drugs to Hong Kong.
Ann was arraigned before Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a two-count charge in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026, bordering on the importation of 5.75kg of heroin and conspiracy to import the drug.
She pleaded guilty to both counts.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Egwuatu sentenced her to 15 years imprisonment on the first count and 25 years on the second count, totalling 40 years.
The court, however, 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 case should serve as a deterrent to international drug cartels seeking to use Nigeria as a transit or destination point for illicit drugs.
He said the subsequent arrest of Ann’s husband in South Africa highlighted the importance of intelligence sharing and international collaboration in tackling transnational drug trafficking.
According to him, the swift conclusion of the case, from arrest to conviction, also demonstrated the effectiveness of NDLEA’s operations and its collaboration with the Federal High Court.
Marwa warned that the agency would continue to strengthen airport interdiction, intelligence-led operations and international cooperation to dismantle drug trafficking networks using Nigeria as a corridor.
He stressed that anyone, irrespective of nationality, caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigeria would face the full weight of the law.
