ABUJA — Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has sentenced a 38-year-old South African, Will Jessica Ann, to 40 years imprisonment for trafficking 5.75 kilograms of heroin.
NDLEA officers arrested her on July 6, 2026, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport during clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha. Fourteen blocks of heroin were found concealed in her two checked bags. She had travelled with her three-year-old son to beat security checks and initially denied owning any luggage before baggage tags linked to her passport exposed her.
Investigations showed she flew from Cambodia via Doha and belongs to a transnational cartel run with her husband, Jan Coenraad De Jager, based in Cambodia. Her husband was arrested in Johannesburg on July 27 while attempting to traffic 3.2kg to Hong Kong.
Arraigned on charges of importation and conspiracy, she pleaded guilty. The court sentenced her to 15 years and 25 years on the two counts, to run concurrently.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), said the judgment proves Nigeria is not a safe corridor for cartels and praised the judiciary and international intelligence-sharing that led to her husband’s arrest in South Africa.
