A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has sentenced a 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, to 40 years in prison for importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria.
According to a statement on Thursday, September 17, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, stated that Ann was convicted and sentenced by a judge, Obiora Egwuatu, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, after she pleaded guilty to a two-count charge bordering on the importation and conspiracy to import 5.75kg of heroin.
The case, filed as suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026, followed her arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, on July 6, 2026.
The agency said Ann was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways flight QR 1433 from Doha to Abuja and discovered 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75kg concealed in her luggage.
According to the agency, Ann initially denied travelling with check-in luggage when questioned by its officers.
The NDLEA said its officers subsequently established that the tags on two bags containing the suspected heroin matched the claim tags attached to Ann’s passport.
Following this discovery, the agency said she changed her account and admitted that the bags belonged to her, although she claimed that she had forgotten she had checked them in.
Alleged transnational drug network
The agency said intelligence gathered during the investigation indicated that Ann was a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation allegedly operating along the Cambodian-South African axis.
According to the NDLEA, the organisation was operated by Ann and her husband or partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, from Cambodia.
The agency further said De Jager was arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2026, while allegedly attempting to traffic 3.2kg of illicit drugs to Hong Kong.
The NDLEA said Ann was subsequently arraigned before the judge, Egwuatu on the two-count charge of importing 5.75kg of heroin and conspiring to import the same quantity into Nigeria.
It said she pleaded guilty to both counts.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, September 17, the agency said the judge sentenced Ann to 15 years’ imprisonment on the first count and 25 years on the second count.
Although the sentences amounted to 40 years, the NDLEA said the court ordered that they should run concurrently.
Marwa reacts
Reacting to the conviction, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohammed Marwa, a retired brigadier general, described the judgment as a demonstration of what he called the Nigerian judiciary’s resolve to support the agency’s efforts against drug trafficking.
In the statement, Marwa said the conviction was also a deterrent to transnational drug cartels allegedly seeking to use Nigeria as a transit or destination point for hard drugs.
He said the case also highlighted the importance of intelligence sharing and cooperation between the NDLEA and its international partners, pointing to De Jager’s subsequent arrest in South Africa.
According to Marwa, the arrest of Ann and her alleged partner showed the importance of international collaboration in tackling transnational drug trafficking networks.
He also said the period between Ann’s arrest and conviction demonstrated the effectiveness of the NDLEA’s operations and its working relationship with the Federal High Court.
Marwa said the agency would continue to strengthen interdiction operations at airports, intelligence-led investigations and international collaboration to dismantle drug trafficking networks using Nigeria as a corridor.
He added that the agency would prosecute people caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigerian territory regardless of their nationality.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M