A 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, has been sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison for importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria.

Ann was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, after 14 large blocks of heroin were discovered concealed in two of her luggage.

The agency said the suspect attempted to use her three-year-old son as a cover to evade thorough security screening.

Her arrest followed the inward clearance of passengers aboard Qatar Airways flight QR 1433 from Doha to Abuja on Monday, July 6, 2026.

According to the NDLEA, Ann initially denied travelling with any checked-in luggage.

However, when officers established that the tags on two bags containing the drugs matched the claim tags attached to her passport, she admitted ownership of the luggage, claiming that she had forgotten she checked in the bags.

The agency said the suspect had travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja.

Further intelligence reportedly linked her to a transnational drug trafficking organisation allegedly operated along the Cambodian-South African axis with her husband or partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager.

De Jager was subsequently arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2026, while allegedly attempting to traffic 3.2 kilogrammes of an illicit drug to Hong Kong.

Ann was arraigned before Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a two-count charge in suit FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026, bordering on the importation of 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin and conspiracy to import the same quantity into Nigeria.

She pleaded guilty to both counts.

In his judgment on Thursday, September 17, 2026, Justice Egwuatu sentenced her to 15 years’ imprisonment on the first count and 25 years on the second, totalling 40 years. The sentences will, however, run concurrently.

Reacting to the judgment, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd.), described the conviction as a demonstration of the judiciary’s support for the agency’s campaign against drug trafficking.

Marwa said the case reinforced NDLEA’s position that Nigeria would not become a soft landing for international drug cartels, adding that the subsequent arrest of Ann’s alleged accomplice in South Africa demonstrated the value of intelligence-sharing and international cooperation.

He said the agency would continue to strengthen airport interdiction, intelligence-led operations and collaboration with international partners to dismantle transnational drug networks using Nigeria as a transit or destination point.

Marwa warned that anyone, regardless of nationality, caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigerian territory would face the full weight of the law.