A Brakpan woman has been convicted and sentenced to an effective 25 years prison term after pleading guilty to smuggling 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria.  

Jessica Ann Will (38) appeared in the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, September 17, charged with the importation of heroin and conspiracy to import heroin into the country. 

She pleaded guilty before Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu, who sentenced her to 15 years for importation of heroin and 25 years for conspiracy to import heroin. The sentences will run concurrently, meaning she will serve 25 years in prison. 

Arrest at Abuja airport

Will was arrested by members of Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja in July. 

During her arrest, Will was found to have concealed 14 large blocks of heroin in her luggage and had allegedly used a young child she was travelling with as a cover to beat security checks and evade thorough screening. 

In a statement, NDLEA director Femi Babafemi said officers became suspicious after the woman initially denied travelling with any checked luggage.  

He explained that officers quickly established that the two bags containing 14 large blocks of heroin had baggage tags matching the claim tags attached to her passport.  

Babafemi said the woman later admitted the bags belonged to her, claiming she had forgotten she had checked them in.  

He added that she claimed to have travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja. 

“Intelligence leading to her arrest indicates she is a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation, along with her husband or partner, who is based in Cambodia, from where they operate their drug network between Cambodia and South Africa.”  

Babafemi added that her partner was also arrested in Johannesburg in July while attempting to traffic drugs to Hong Kong. 

Judiciary sends strong message to drug cartels 

The chairperson and CEO of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, described the judgement as a strong deterrent to transnational drug cartels seeking to use Nigeria as a transit or destination point for hard drugs. 

Marwa said the case reinforces the NDLEA’s long-standing position that Nigeria will not serve as a soft landing for international drug cartels. 

“The arrest of the convict’s husband in South Africa barely three weeks later is clear evidence of the strength of intelligence-sharing and collaboration between NDLEA and its international partners.” 

He warned that the NDLEA will continue to strengthen airport interdiction, intelligence-led operations, and international collaboration to dismantle transnational drug trafficking networks. 

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