South African woman jailed 25 years for smuggling heroin into Nigeria

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a 38-year-old South African woman, Will Ann, to 25 years’ imprisonment for smuggling 5.75kg of heroin into Nigeria, according to People’s Gazette. Justice Obiora Egwuatu convicted her after she pleaded guilty to importing the drug through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on July 6.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said she was arrested while travelling with her three-year-old son aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Doha. The prosecution asked the court to consider the heroin’s value, about ₦18 million per kilogram, in sentencing.

Ann pleaded for leniency, but the judge said “crime does not pay,” sentencing her to concurrent terms of 15 and 25 years.