Abuja, Sept. 17, 2026, — A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a 38-year-old South African, Will Jessica Ann, to 40 years imprisonment for importing 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria.
Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu convicted Ann on a two-count charge of importing and conspiring to import 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria.
The judge sentenced her to 15 years imprisonment on count one and 25 years on count two, with the sentences to run concurrently.
Ann was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, after 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75kg were found concealed in her luggage.
The NDLEA said Ann allegedly used her three-year-old son as a cover to evade thorough security checks.
According to the agency, she was arrested on July 6 during the inward clearance of passengers aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha to Abuja.
The agency said the convict initially denied travelling with checked-in luggage but later admitted ownership of two bags after officers established that their tags tallied with the claim tags attached to her passport.
She reportedly told the operatives that she had travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja and claimed that she had forgotten she checked in the two bags.
The NDLEA said intelligence gathered after her arrest indicated that Ann was a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation operating along the Cambodian-South African route.
It 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 subsequently arraigned before Justice Egwuatu in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026, where she pleaded guilty to the two-count charge.
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 judgment would serve as a deterrent to transnational drug cartels seeking to use Nigeria as a transit or destination point for illicit drugs.
He said the case reinforced the agency’s position that Nigeria would not serve as a “soft landing” for international drug cartels.
The NDLEA boss said the arrest of Ann’s husband in South Africa barely three weeks after her arrest demonstrated the importance of intelligence sharing and collaboration among international law enforcement agencies.
He also described the swift conclusion of the case as a reflection of the effectiveness of the agency’s operations and its collaboration with the Federal High Court.
Marwa said the agency would continue to strengthen airport interdiction, intelligence-led operations and international collaboration to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks using Nigeria as a corridor.
He warned that anyone, regardless of nationality, caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigerian territory would face the full weight of the law.
The NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, issued the statement on Thursday in Abuja.
