South African Woman Bags 25 Years For Importing 5.75kg Heroin Into Nigeria 

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a South African woman, identified as Will Ann, to a combined 25-year jail term for unlawfully importing 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ann, 38 was arrested after allegedly trafficking the illicit substance through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had arraigned her before the court in August, where she pleaded guilty to unlawfully importing the heroin into Nigeria on July 6.

According to the NDLEA, the convict was arrested while travelling with her three-year-old son.

She was apprehended during the inward clearance of passengers aboard Qatar Airways Flight QR1433, which arrived in Abuja from Doha.

Delivering judgment, Justice Egwuatu held that the defendant had admitted committing the offence in her extra-judicial statement before entering her guilty plea.

The judge noted that the law was settled that a conviction ordinarily follows a plea of guilty.

Justice Egwuatu subsequently convicted Ann on the charges.

Following the conviction, the prosecution urged the court to consider the value of heroin in determining the sentence, informing the court that one kilogramme of the substance was worth about N18 million.

The convict, however, pleaded for leniency, promising the court that she would not engage in such an offence again.

She also expressed remorse and claimed that she was unaware that the bag contained illicit drugs.

After listening to the submissions and considering the plea for mercy, Justice Egwuatu said that “crime does not pay,” stressing that the law could not be guided by emotions.

The judge sentenced Ann to 15 years’ imprisonment on Count One and 25 years on Count Two.

He ordered that the sentences run concurrently.

Justice Egwuatu further ordered that the seized heroin be destroyed if the convict failed to appeal the judgment within the period prescribed by law.

(NAN)