An Australian grandmother is set face court in Japan after falling for a ‘romance scam’ and allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into the country.
Perth woman Donna Nelson, 57, was arrested in January, 2023, at Narita International Airport in Japan for attempting to import 1.9kg of methamphetamine into the country.
Authorities claim Ms Nelson hid the methamphetamines in a tampered suitcase, which was fitted with a false outer lining to create a hidden cavity.
Ms Nelson has not spoken with her family since her arrest and has remained in a Chiba Prison cell, where she claims she is kept in isolation for 23 hours a day.
Her five daughters will attend the trial which is scheduled to start on Monday at a court in Chiba, east of Tokyo.
They claim their mother, who is a prominent Indigenous leader and chair of a West Australian Aboriginal health service, was the victim of an online romance scam.
Ms Nelson’s eldest daughter Kristal Hilaire said her grandfather was the first Aboriginal policeman in Western Australia and her mum was married to the first Aboriginal detective in the state.
Ms Hilaire explained her mum would never have knowingly carried illegal drugs into a foreign country.
Perth grandmother Donna Nelson, 57, is set to face court on Monday charged with attempting to smuggle 1.9kg of methamphetamine into Japan
Ms Nelson’s family believe she was the victim of an online romance scam and was tricked into carrying the suitcase filled with drugs
‘She would never, ever have any kind of involvement in something that could ruin so many lives for other people,’ Ms Hilaire told The ABC.
Her family believes she was forced or tricked into carrying the suitcase into Japan as it was not part of her luggage when she bordered her flight out of Australia.
Her daughters explained their mum had been talking to a Nigerian man online for two years before her arrest and was travelling to meet him.
Ms Nelson had met the man, who is known as ‘Kelly’, through an online dating site called AfroIntroductions about two years prior to her arrest.
Kelly told Ms Nelson he had his own adult children and he ran a successful fashion business while living in Japan.
The pair planned to get married after they met in person, with Kelly offering Ms Nelson an all-expenses paid trip to Japan.
However, Kelly told Ms Nelson he could not get her a direct flight to Japan during the Christmas-New Year period and that she had to make a stop at Laos first.
Ms Nelson spoke to her daughters from a hotel in Laos and seemed to be enjoying her holiday.
However, that was the last communication they had with her before she was arrested at the airport in Japan.
Ms Hilaire said her mum was ‘vulnerable’ and ‘really lonely’, claiming she desperately wanted to connect with someone who had similar values.
‘I think he sold this beautiful, big blended family image with her, and that she would not have to be alone anymore,’ Ms Hilaire said.
Ms Nelson’s family believe Kelly used their mother as a pawn in a much larger, sophisticated global network of criminals.
Her lawyer in Japan Nishida Rie said Ms Nelson was unaware the suitcase contained methamphetamine as it was cleverly hidden and was tricked into carrying it.
Ms Nishida also alleged the investigation, carried out by Japanese customs officials and police, had serious flaws including low-quality and partiality of English interpretation and failure to use objective recording methods.
High-profile Australian lawyer Jennifer Robinson (pictured second from left with Ms Nelson’s daughters Ashlee, Shontay and Kristal) has taken on Ms Nelson’s case claiming she should be treated as a victim and not a criminal
High-profile Australian lawyer Jennifer Robinson has taken on Ms Nelson’s case, claiming the mother-of-five should not be treated as a criminal but rather a victim.
Ms Robinson, who previously represented Julian Assange, said Ms Nelson was being punished with abhorrent prison conditions and solitary confinement.
‘The criminal gang that are responsible for this are not being properly investigated and punished, and Donna, the victim of the crime, is being punished,’ Ms Robinson said.
‘Not just punished, held in abhorrent prison conditions, in solitary confinement in a Japanese prison.’
Ms Robinson has urged the Australian government to intervene and ensure Ms Nelson’ receives a fair trial.
She added Japan’s conviction rate for criminal cases was 99 per cent, which raised serious concerns over the presumption of innocence and due process.
Ms Nelson is set to face court on Monday, with a verdict in her case due on December 4.
