South African Woman Bags 40 years for 5.75kg Heroin at Nigerian Airport

By: Michael Mike

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday sentenced a 38-year-old South African woman to 40 years imprisonment for importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria using her three-year-old son as cover.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu convicted Ms. Will Jessica Ann on two counts of importation and conspiracy to import heroin in charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/422/2026, which she pleaded guilty to.

The court sentenced her to 15 years on count one and 25 years on count two. The sentences will run concurrently. She will effectively spend 25 years in jail.

Ann was arrested on July 6, 2026, by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways flight QR 1433 from Doha at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

NDLEA said she concealed 14 large blocks of heroin in two checked-in bags and travelled with her toddler to evade security screening.

According to the agency, she initially denied owning any checked luggage. Officers, however, linked two bags containing the drugs to her through baggage tags that tallied with claim tags attached to her passport.

She later admitted ownership, claiming she forgot she checked in the bags. She told investigators she flew in from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja.

Intelligence, NDLEA said, shows she is a member of a transnational drug trafficking organisation operating along the Cambodian-South African axis with her husband and partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager.

De Jager, who is based in Cambodia, was arrested in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 27, 2026, while attempting to traffic 3.2 kilogrammes of illicit drugs to Hong Kong.

Reacting to the conviction, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), said the judgment demonstrates the judiciary’s resolve to support the agency’s war against drug trafficking.
Marwa said the conviction reinforces the agency’s position that Nigeria will not be a soft landing for international drug cartels.

He said the arrest of the convict’s partner three weeks after her arrest in Abuja underscores the strength of intelligence-sharing and collaboration between NDLEA and its foreign partners.

He said the agency will continue to strengthen airport interdiction and international collaboration to dismantle trafficking networks using Nigeria as a corridor.

Marwa warned that anyone, regardless of nationality, caught trafficking illicit drugs through Nigeria will face the full weight of the law.

South African Woman Bags 40 years for 5.75kg Heroin at Nigerian Airport

Kidnapped woman escapes abductors in Plateau, receives treatment for minor injuries

By: Zagazola Makama

A woman who was kidnapped by suspected armed robbers along the Kassa–Barkin Ladi highway in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State has reportedly escaped from her abductors and is receiving medical treatment.

The victim was abducted on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, after suspected armed robbers blocked the highway with stones and intercepted vehicles along the route.

Security sources said the woman managed to escape from her abductors in the early hours of Wednesday, Sept. 16, and subsequently made her way to safety.

She is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Heipang, where she is being attended to for minor injuries reportedly sustained during the incident.

The development followed an earlier response by troops of Sector 4, Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP), deployed at the Alpha Guard location, who cleared the highway after discovering an ash-coloured Sharon vehicle without a registration number at the scene.

Sources said a security team has been dispatched to independently verify the circumstances of the woman’s escape and establish the location from which she escaped, as well as gather further evidence.

Security forces are also expected to intensify efforts to identify and apprehend the suspected kidnappers operating along the Kassa–Barkin Ladi axis.

Kidnapped woman escapes abductors in Plateau, receives treatment for minor injuries

Operation Enduring Peace troops arrest two suspected Mhwaghavul militia for cattle rustle in Mangu

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops of Sector 8, Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP), have arrested two suspected Mhwagavul militia for cattle rustling during a raid operation at Mangun Village in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The operation was conducted at about 1800 hours on Sept. 15, 2026, following reports of activities by suspected cattle rustlers operating in the area.

According to security sources, the troops raided an identified hideout of the suspected criminals in the village and arrested two suspects identified as Klishik Dashuk, 28, and Bamshak Micheal, 26.

Items recovered from the suspects included two mobile phones, quantities of substances suspected to be marijuana and other illicit drugs, as well as ₦28,755 in cash.

The suspects are currently in military custody and undergoing interrogation to establish their alleged involvement in cattle rustling and other criminal activities in the area.

Operation Enduring Peace troops arrest two suspected Mhwaghavul militia for cattle rustle in Mangu