Posted by Chinenye on Fri 18th Sep, 2026 - tori.ng
A South African woman has been given a 40-year prison sentence after she was caught at Abuja airport with a large amount of heroin in her luggage.
(Ms. Will Jessica Ann, with her three-year-old son. photo Credit : NDLEA)
A 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for importing 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria.
Ann was arrested at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on July 6 after 14 large blocks of heroin were found in her luggage.
She had arrived on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said Ann hid the drugs in her bags and used her three-year-old son as cover to avoid thorough security checks.
She initially denied bringing check-in luggage but later admitted ownership of the two bags containing the drugs after officials matched the bag tags to her passport.
Ann said she travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja.
Investigators found she was part of a transnational drug trafficking network operating between Cambodia and South Africa with her husband, Jan Coenraad De Jager.
He was arrested in South Africa on July 27 while trying to traffic 3.2kg of drugs to Hong Kong.
Ann pleaded guilty to importation and conspiracy charges.
The Federal High Court judge sentenced her to 15 years on the first count and 25 years on the second, totalling 40 years.
The sentences run concurrently.
NDLEA chief Mohamed Buba Marwa said the conviction shows the judiciary supports efforts to fight drug trafficking.
He said Nigeria will not be a safe haven for drug cartels and anyone trafficking drugs through the country will face the law regardless of nationality.