The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, September 17, 2026, sentenced 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, to 25 years in prison for unlawfully importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu sentenced Ann to 15 years on Count One and 25 years on Count Two, with both sentences running concurrently, meaning she will serve a total of 25 years in prison.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had arraigned Ann in August after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy and unlawful importation of heroin.
She was arrested on July 6 during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways Flight QR1433 from Doha while travelling with her three-year-old son.
According to the NDLEA, two suitcases containing 14 large blocks of heroin were found after baggage tags on the bags were matched with claim tags attached to Ann’s passport.
She initially denied travelling with checked-in luggage but later admitted owning the bags, claiming she had forgotten that she checked them in.
Ann told the court she was remorseful, promised not to commit such an offence again and claimed she did not know the bags contained illicit drugs.
The judge noted that Ann had admitted committing the offence in her extrajudicial statement and said a guilty plea leads to conviction. He also stressed that the law is not influenced by emotions, stating that “crime does not pay.”
The prosecution urged the court to consider the value of the heroin, estimated at about N18 million per kilogramme, when sentencing her.
The NDLEA also claimed that Ann was a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation with her husband or partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, operating along the Cambodian-South African axis. Upon arraignment, Ann admitted conspiring with De Jager in the offence.
The court further ordered that the seized heroin be destroyed if Ann does not appeal within the period allowed by law.
Comments