A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, to 25 years in prison for trafficking 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu handed down the sentence on Thursday after Ann pleaded guilty to conspiracy and unlawful importation of the drug.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had arrested Ann on July 6 during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways Flight QR1433 from Doha at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
According to the NDLEA, operatives found 14 large blocks of heroin in two suitcases linked to Ann.
The agency said Ann initially denied travelling with checked-in luggage but later admitted ownership of the bags after investigators matched the baggage tags with those attached to her passport.
“Though she initially denied travelling with check-in bags, after operatives were able to quickly establish that the two bags containing the drugs had tags which tallied with the claim tags attached to her passport, she recanted and admitted ownership of the bags, adding that she forgot she checked in the two bags,” the NDLEA said.
The agency said Ann had travelled from Cambodia through Doha before arriving in Abuja.
She later admitted in court that she conspired with a South African man, Jan Coenraad De Jager, to commit the offence.
Delivering judgment, Justice Egwuatu said Ann had admitted the offence in her statement before entering her guilty plea.
The judge said the law provides that a conviction follows a guilty plea and subsequently convicted her.
The prosecution urged the court to consider the street value of the heroin, estimated at about N18 million per kilogramme, when determining the sentence.
Ann pleaded for leniency and expressed remorse, promising not to engage in such an offence again. She also claimed she did not know the bags contained illicit drugs.
However, Justice Egwuatu said the court could not be guided by emotions in applying the law.
The judge said, “crime does not pay,” stressing that Nigerian law does not respect emotions.
He sentenced Ann to 15 years’ imprisonment on Count 1 and 25 years on Count 2, with both sentences to run concurrently.
She will therefore serve a maximum of 25 years in prison.
Justice Egwuatu also ordered that the seized heroin be destroyed if Ann does not appeal the judgment within the period prescribed by law.