South African woman sentenced to 25 years in Nigeria over 5.75kg heroin
ABUJA: A 38-year-old South African woman, Jessica Ann Will, has been sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in prison by the Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria, after pleading guilty to importing 5.75kg of heroin into the country.
Will was convicted on Thursday, 17 September 2026, after she appeared before Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu on two charges relating to the importation and conspiracy to import the drugs.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said Will was arrested on 6 July 2026 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after officers discovered 14 large blocks of heroin concealed in two suitcases.
She had arrived on Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha and was travelling with her three-year-old son.
According to the NDLEA, Ann initially denied travelling with checked-in luggage.
However, officers established that the baggage tags on the two suitcases containing the drugs matched the claim tags attached to her passport.
She subsequently admitted that the bags belonged to her, although she claimed she had forgotten that she had checked them in.
The agency said Will told investigators that she had travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja.
It further alleged that she was linked to a transnational drug trafficking organisation operating along the Cambodian-South African axis with her husband or partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager.
De Jager was later arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 27 July 2026, while allegedly attempting to traffic 3.2kg of illicit drugs to Hong Kong, according to the NDLEA.
Will was charged in case number FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026 and pleaded guilty to both counts.
During sentencing, Justice Egwuatu said the court was guided by the law, adding that criminal proceedings following a guilty plea did not depend on emotions.
The judge also remarked that “crime does not pay”, according to reports from the proceedings.
The court sentenced Will to 15 years imprisonment on the first count and 25 years on the second count.
However, the sentences will run concurrently, meaning she will effectively serve a maximum of 25 years in prison.
Court reports said Will pleaded for leniency and told the court that she did not know there were drugs inside the bags.
Her lawyer also asked the court to consider that she was a first-time offender and a mother with a young child.
The NDLEA said its investigation indicated that Will was allegedly part of a wider international drug trafficking network.
The agency’s chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retired), said the conviction demonstrated the importance of cooperation between law-enforcement agencies and the judiciary in combating transnational drug trafficking.
