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.

The Federal High Court in Abuja convicted Ann after she pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to import and actual importation of the illicit drug.

Ann was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, following her arrival from Doha on Qatar Airways flight QR1433 on July 6, 2026.

According to the NDLEA, operatives discovered 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75kg concealed in two pieces of luggage linked to the suspect.

The agency said Ann had initially denied travelling with checked-in luggage. However, further checks revealed that the bags bore tags corresponding with the claim tags attached to her passport.

She subsequently admitted ownership of the luggage, claiming that she had forgotten that she checked in the two bags.

NDLEA investigations reportedly established that Ann travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja and was allegedly connected to a transnational drug trafficking network operating along the Cambodia-South Africa route.

Her husband and alleged trafficking partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, was later arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2026, while allegedly attempting to traffic 3.2kg of illicit drugs to Hong Kong.

Ann was prosecuted in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026 on two counts relating to the importation and conspiracy to import 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, September 17, 2026, Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu sentenced her to 15 years’ imprisonment on the first count and 25 years on the second count.

Although the combined sentence amounts to 40 years, the court ordered that the terms run concurrently.

Reacting to the judgment, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the conviction as a significant boost to the agency’s efforts to combat international drug trafficking.

Marwa said the case demonstrated the Nigerian judiciary’s support for the fight against drug cartels and sent a strong warning to traffickers attempting to use Nigeria as a transit or destination point for illicit drugs.

He also pointed to the subsequent arrest of Ann’s husband in South Africa as evidence of the importance of intelligence sharing and cooperation between the NDLEA and international law-enforcement agencies.

According to him, the rapid progression of the case from arrest to conviction also reflected the effectiveness of NDLEA operations and its collaboration with the Federal High Court.

Marwa warned that the agency would continue to intensify airport interdiction, intelligence-driven operations and international partnerships aimed at dismantling transnational drug trafficking networks.

He stressed that anyone, irrespective of nationality, caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigeria would face the full weight of the law.

If you want, I can also �⁠make the headline more punchy and newspaper-style, such as: “Heroin in Her Luggage: South African Woman Gets 40 Years in Nigeria”.