South African woman sentenced to 40 years for smuggling 5.75kg heroin into Nigeria

Abdullateef Fowewe

A 38-year-old South African national, Will Jessica Ann, has been convicted and handed a 40-year prison term for importing 5.75 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria.

Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, said in a statement on Thursday that the convict was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after she “concealed 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilograms in her luggage, using her three-year-old son as a cover to beat security checks and evade thorough screening.”

The bust occurred during inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways flight QR 1433 from Doha to Abuja on Monday, July 6, 2026.

Although she initially denied travelling with check-in bags, NDLEA officers matched baggage tags to claim tags in her passport, prompting her to admit ownership of the two drug-laden bags and say she “forgot she checked in the two bags.”

Intelligence gathered by the agency indicates she is part of a transnational drug trafficking organisation alongside her husband/partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, who operates from Cambodia along the Cambodian–South African axis.

Her husband was later arrested in Johannesburg on July 27, 2026 while attempting to traffic 3.2kg of illicit drugs to Hong Kong.

Ann was arraigned on a two-count charge in suit FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026 for importation of 5.75kg heroin and conspiracy to import the same quantity.

She pleaded guilty before Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Judgment and sentencing
Delivering judgment on Thursday, September 17, 2026, Justice Egwuatu convicted and sentenced her to 15 years on count one and 25 years on count two, “bringing the total years of imprisonment to 40 years.”

The sentences will run concurrently.

NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the verdict as “a firm demonstration of the resolve of the Nigerian judiciary to support the Agency’s war against drug trafficking and a strong deterrent to transnational drug cartels seeking to use Nigeria as a transit or destination point for hard drugs.”

Marwa stressed that “Nigeria will not serve as a soft landing for international drug cartels,” and highlighted the arrest of the convict’s husband in South Africa as evidence of “the strength of intelligence-sharing and collaboration between NDLEA and its international partners.”

He warned that “anyone, regardless of nationality, caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigerian territory will face the full weight of the law.”