A 38-year-old South African woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Abuja on Thursday after pleading guilty to smuggling 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria with her three-year-old son in tow.
Will Jessica Ann was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on July 6, 2026, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. She had just landed on Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha. Her son, who is three, was travelling with her.
During the inward clearance of passengers, NDLEA officers found 14 large blocks of heroin concealed in two checked-in suitcases. Ann initially denied travelling with any checked luggage. Officers established that the baggage tags on the two suitcases matched the claim tags attached to her passport. She then admitted the bags belonged to her, saying she had forgotten she had checked them in.
The NDLEA statement, issued by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, also linked Ann to a transnational drug trafficking organisation operating along the Cambodia-South Africa route. Her partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, was named alongside her in the conspiracy charge. The court described De Jager as being at large.
Ann pleaded guilty to two charges: conspiring to import the heroin and unlawfully importing the drug. When she appeared before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja for sentencing on Thursday, September 17, she asked for leniency. She told the court she did not know there were drugs in the bags and said she had learnt her lesson.
"I did not know there was drug in the bags…I have learnt my lessons," Ann said, according to a report of the proceedings by THISDAY.
Her lawyer urged the court to consider that she was a first-time offender and a mother with no one in Nigeria to care for her young child. The court convicted Ann after she pleaded guilty.
Justice Egwuatu sentenced her to 15 years on the conspiracy count and 25 years for the unlawful importation of heroin. The two sentences will run concurrently, meaning Ann will serve a maximum of 25 years in prison rather than 40.
The prosecution told the court that one kilogramme of heroin was worth about ₦18 million, placing the estimated street value of the seized 5.75kg at more than ₦100 million. The judge also ordered that the seized heroin be destroyed if Ann does not appeal within the period allowed by law.
The case raised questions about the fate of Ann's son. During earlier proceedings, the prosecution told the court that the child had remained in NDLEA custody. The agency wanted to arrange his handover to the South African High Commission. No separate statement from the South African High Commission was cited in the reports reviewed at the time of submission.
According to Pulse.ng.
