The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, to 25 years in prison for unlawfully importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu sentenced Ann to 15 years on the first count and 25 years on the second count, with the sentences to run concurrently. She will therefore serve a total of 25 years in prison.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had arraigned Ann in August after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy and unlawful importation of heroin.
She was arrested on July 6 during the inward clearance of passengers arriving on Qatar Airways Flight QR1433 from Doha at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. She was travelling with her three-year-old son at the time.
According to the NDLEA, operatives recovered two suitcases containing 14 large blocks of heroin after matching the baggage tags on the luggage with claim tags attached to Ann’s passport.
The agency said Ann initially denied travelling with checked-in luggage but later admitted that the bags belonged to her, explaining that she had forgotten she checked them in.
Read Also: etche-suspends-festivals-chieftaincy-ceremonies-over-traditional-rulers-death
During proceedings, Ann expressed remorse and promised not to commit a similar offence again. She also told the court that she was unaware that the bags contained illicit drugs.
However, the judge noted that Ann had admitted committing the offence in her extrajudicial statement, adding that a guilty plea provides a basis for conviction.
Justice Egwuatu further stressed that the law must be applied without being influenced by emotions, stating that “crime does not pay.”
The prosecution had urged the court to take into consideration the quantity and value of the seized substance when determining the sentence. The NDLEA estimated the value of heroin at about N18 million per kilogramme.
The anti-drug agency had also alleged that Ann was a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation operated with her husband or partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, along the Cambodian-South African axis.
During her arraignment, Ann admitted conspiring with De Jager in connection with the offence.
The court also ordered that the seized heroin be destroyed if Ann does not appeal the judgment within the period prescribed by law.
