South African woman lands in Abuja with 5.75 kg heroin and 3-year-old son, gets 25 years imprisonment after pleading for mercy

• 38-year-old South African woman arrested at Abuja airport

• NDLEA found 5.75kg of heroin in two suitcases

• Court sentenced her to 25 years after guilty plea

A trip from Cambodia to Nigeria ended in prison for a 38-year-old South African woman after she was found with 5.75kg of heroin at Abuja airport.

Will Jessica Ann was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on July 6, 2026, after arriving at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja,  with her three-year-old son on Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha.

According to the NDLEA, officers found 14 large blocks of heroin concealed in two checked-in suitcases during the inward clearance of passengers.

The agency said Ann initially denied travelling with any checked luggage. Officers, however, established that the baggage tags on the two suitcases matched the claim tags attached to her passport.

She then admitted the bags belonged to her, saying she had forgotten that she had checked them in, according to the NDLEA statement issued by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

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The NDLEA also alleged that Ann was linked to a transnational drug trafficking organisation operating along the Cambodia-South Africa route with her partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager.

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De Jager was named alongside Ann in the conspiracy charge and was described in court as being at large. Ann later pleaded guilty to conspiring to import the heroin and to unlawfully importing the drug.

When she appeared before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja for sentencing on Thursday, September 17, Ann asked the court for leniency. She reportedly told the court that she did not know there were drugs in the bags and said she had learnt her lesson.

“I did not know there was drug in the bags…I have learnt my lessons,” Ann said, according to a report of the proceedings by THISDAY. 

Her lawyer also urged the court to consider that she was a first-time offender and a mother with no one in Nigeria to care for her young child. The court nevertheless convicted Ann after she pleaded guilty to the two charges.

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Justice Egwuatu sentenced her to 15 years on the conspiracy count and 25 years for the unlawful importation of heroin. The two sentences are to run concurrently, meaning Ann will serve a maximum of 25 years in prison, rather than 40 years. 

The prosecution had told the court that one kilogramme of heroin was worth about ₦18 million, placing the estimated street value of the seized 5.75kg at more than ₦100 million. The judge also ordered that the seized heroin be destroyed if Ann does not appeal within the period allowed by law.

The case also raised concerns about Ann’s son. During the earlier proceedings, the prosecution told the court that the child had remained in NDLEA custody and that the agency wanted to arrange his handover to the South African High Commission.

No separate statement from the South African High Commission was cited in the reports reviewed by the time of submission.