South African woman will spend 40 years in prison for importing 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria

A 38-year-old South African woman, Mrs Will Jessica Ann, has been sentenced to 40 years imprisonment by the Federal High Court in Abuja for importing 5.75 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria.

The inmate 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 discovered hidden in her luggage.

The NDLEA said the suspect used her three-year-old son as cover to evade extensive security checks.

She was arrested on Monday, July 6, 2026, while clearing passengers on board Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha to Abuja.

According to Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the suspect initially denied traveling with checked baggage.

However, NDLEA officers established that two bags containing the drugs had labels matching the application tags attached to his passport.

He later admitted ownership of the bags, claiming he forgot he had checked the bags.

The agency said he told investigators he had traveled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja.

Investigations also revealed that the woman was a member of a transnational drug trafficking organization operating along the Cambodian-South African axis together with her husband/partner Jan Coenraad De Jager.

De Jager was subsequently arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 27 July 2026, while allegedly attempting to traffic 3.2kg of illicit drugs into Hong Kong.

Will Jessica Ann was arraigned before Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu on a two-count charge in case no. FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026, bordering on importing 5.75kg of heroin and conspiring to import the same quantity into Nigeria.

She pleaded guilty to both counts.

Delivering sentence on Thursday 17 September 2026, Justice Egwuatu sentenced her to 15 years’ imprisonment on the first count and 25 years on the second, bringing the total sentence imposed to 40 years.

The NDLEA has made it clear that the sentences will run concurrently.

Reacting to the sentence, the President/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the conviction as a demonstration of the Nigerian judiciary’s support for the agency’s efforts against drug trafficking.

Marwa said the ruling will serve as a deterrent to international drug cartels seeking to use Nigeria as a transit or destination point for hard drugs.

He said the case also strengthened the agency’s position that Nigeria would not serve as a “soft landing” for international drug cartels.

According to him, the arrest of the prisoner’s husband in South Africa just three weeks after his arrest, while allegedly attempting another trafficking operation to Hong Kong, demonstrates the importance of intelligence sharing and international collaboration to dismantle transnational drug networks.

Marwa added that the quick conclusion of the case, from arrest to conviction, reflects the effectiveness of the agency’s airport interdiction operations and its collaboration with the Federal High Court.

He warned that the NDLEA will continue to strengthen airport interdiction, intelligence-led operations and international cooperation to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks using Nigeria as a corridor.

He further said that anyone, regardless of nationality, caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigerian territory will face the full brunt of the law.