SOUTH AFRICAN WOMAN JAILED 40 YEARS FOR IMPORTING 5.75KG HEROIN INTO NIGERIA

SOUTH AFRICAN WOMAN JAILED 40 YEARS FOR IMPORTING 5.75KG HEROIN INTO NIGERIA

A 38-year-old South African woman, Ms Will Jessica Ann, has been sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison for importing 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria. The convict 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 Ann had used her three-year-old son as a cover while attempting to evade thorough security screening. During inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha to Abuja on 6 July 2026, officers discovered that two bags containing the drugs had tags matching the claim tags attached to her 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.

According to intelligence obtained by the Agency, Ann is allegedly a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation operating along the Cambodia-South Africa axis with her husband/partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, based in Cambodia. De Jager was also arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 27 July 2026 while allegedly attempting to traffic 3.2kg of illicit drugs to Hong Kong.

Ann was subsequently arraigned before Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in suit FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026 on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy to import and importation of 5.75kg of heroin. She pleaded guilty to both counts. In his judgment delivered on Thursday, 17 September 2026, Justice Egwuatu sentenced her to 15 years imprisonment on count one and 25 years on count two, making a total of 40 years, with the sentences to 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 fight against drug trafficking. Marwa said the case reinforces NDLEA’s position that Nigeria will not serve as a soft landing for international drug cartels seeking to use the country as a transit or destination point for hard drugs, adding that the subsequent arrest of the convict’s husband in South Africa highlights the importance of intelligence-sharing and international collaboration in disrupting transnational drug trafficking networks.

Marwa said the swift progression of the case from arrest to conviction reflects the Agency’s operational efforts and collaboration with the Federal High Court. He warned that NDLEA would continue to strengthen airport interdiction, intelligence-led operations and international cooperation to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks, stressing that anyone caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigerian territory, regardless of nationality, will face the full weight of the law.