A South African woman who allegedly used her three-year-old son as a cover to smuggle 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The 38-year-old woman, Ms. Will Jessica Ann, was convicted on two counts bordering on conspiracy to import and importation of 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria.
The Director of Media and Advocacy, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Femi Babafemi, said in a statement issued on Thursday that Ann was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after operatives discovered 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75kg in her luggage.
According to the agency, the suspect allegedly used her three-year-old son as a cover in an attempt to evade thorough security checks at the airport.
Ann was arrested on July 6, 2026, during the inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR 1433 from Doha to Abuja.
The NDLEA said its officers initially noticed that Ann denied checking in any luggage. However, further checks established that two bags had tags corresponding with the claim tags attached to her passport.
The agency said she subsequently admitted ownership of the bags, claiming that she had forgotten that she had checked in two bags.
Investigations further revealed that Ann had travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja and was allegedly a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation operating along the Cambodian-South African axis.
The NDLEA also linked her to her husband and alleged drug trafficking partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, who was arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2026, while attempting to traffic 3.2kg of illicit drugs to Hong Kong.
Ann was subsequently arraigned before Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026.
She pleaded guilty to the two-count charge.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, September 17, 2026, Justice Egwuatu convicted Ann and sentenced her to 15 years’ imprisonment on count one and 25 years on count two, with the sentences to run concurrently.
Reacting to the judgment, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd.), described the conviction as a demonstration of the judiciary’s support for the agency’s efforts to combat drug trafficking.
Marwa said the judgment should serve as a deterrent to international drug cartels seeking to use Nigeria as a transit or destination point for illicit drugs.
“The judgment is a firm demonstration of the judiciary’s resolve and support for the Agency’s war against drug trafficking,” Marwa said.
He said the case reinforced the NDLEA’s position that Nigeria would not become a “soft landing” for international drug cartels.
Marwa noted that the arrest of Ann’s husband in South Africa three weeks after her arrest further demonstrated the importance of intelligence sharing and international collaboration in dismantling transnational drug networks.
He said the swift progression of the case from arrest to conviction also reflected the effectiveness of NDLEA operations and its collaboration with the Federal High Court.
The NDLEA chairman warned that the agency would continue to strengthen drug interdiction at airports, intelligence-led operations and international cooperation, stressing that anyone caught trafficking drugs through Nigerian territory, regardless of nationality, would face the full weight of the law.
