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A Nigerian court has sentenced a South African woman to 40 years in prison for importing nearly six kilograms of heroin into the country, according to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The 38-year-old woman, identified as Will Jessica Ann, was arrested on July 6 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after authorities found 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilogrammes hidden in her luggage.
The NDLEA said she attempted to avoid detection by using her three-year-old son as a cover while passing through security checks. The agency said the suspect arrived in Nigeria from Doha, Qatar, after travelling from Cambodia, where investigators alleged she was linked to an international drug trafficking network.
According to the NDLEA, “she is a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation along with her husband/partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, based in Cambodia from where they operate their drug network along the Cambodian-South African axis.”
The agency said investigations showed the network operated between Cambodia and South Africa, with Nigeria allegedly used as a transit point.
Jessica Ann pleaded guilty to two charges: importing heroin and conspiracy to import heroin into Nigeria.
The High Court convicted her and sentenced her to 15 years’ imprisonment on one count and 25 years on another, making a combined sentence of 40 years. The court ruled that the sentences would run concurrently.
Nigeria has intensified efforts to combat international drug trafficking, with authorities reporting increased attempts by criminal networks to use the country as a route for illegal substances.
West Africa has become a major transit region for drugs moving between South America and Europe, particularly cocaine.
Recent discoveries of large-scale methamphetamine production facilities have also raised concerns among authorities about possible links between Nigerian criminal networks and international drug cartels seeking to produce and distribute synthetic drugs from the region.
