Australian grandmother Donna Nelson sentenced to six years jail in Japan

Australian grandmother Donna Nelson has been sentenced to six years in jail after being found guilty of importing two kilograms of methamphetamine into Japan.

Australian grandmother Donna Nelson has been sentenced to six years in jail after being found guilty of importing two kilograms of methamphetamine into Japan.

Authorities alleged she imported about 1.9kg of an illegal drug in her luggage, but she alleged she was the victim of a romance scam and unwittingly carried the drugs.

She picked up the travel bag during a three-day stop in Laos, claiming she had been tricked into believing it was a sample case an online love interest needed for his fashion business in Japan.

The 58-year-old maintained she was tricked by a love scammer known as Kelly, after she was caught at Tokyo’s Narita Airport in January last year.

Ms Nelson had sparked an online romance Kelly, which lasted for two years.

Kelly bought a flight for Ms Nelson to Japan, which included the Laos stopover. At this point, Nelson moved her belongings into a new bag, telling the court she did not want to manage two bags during her trip.

The court ruled Ms Nelson ignored red flags about Kelly and she also failed to declare the bag was not hers, the ABC reports.

Instead, she stated her reasons for the visit were “business”, not personal.

This led to the prosecution calling her “untrustworthy”.

Ms Nelson, a former Greens candidate and Indigenous community leader, has been in custody since she was arrested at Narita International Airport in January 2023.

The court also heard Ms Nelson was seeking a “respectable” man after her husband left her while she was pregnant with her fifth daughter.

Her Japanese lawyer Rie Nishida attempted to defend her character through pointing to her local community work.

Perth grandmother Donna Nelson. Picture: Supplied

Her daughter ­Kristal Hilaire said her family do not believe the Ballardong Njaki-Njaki woman would have knowingly carried drugs, and had always been “totally anti-drugs”.

Ms Hilaire has previously told Australian media her mother fell victim to a romance scam after meeting a Nigerian man on a dating app called Afro-­Introductions. She had planned to meet the man after speaking with him for about 18 months, when he allegedly offered her an all-expenses paid trip to Japan, via a stopover in Laos.

According to a statement issued by the National Justice Project, Australian international human rights barrister Jennifer Robinson had joined the fight to free Ms Nelson.

Ms Robinson met with three of Ms Nelson’s daughters Ashlee Charles, Ms Hilaire and Shontaye in the lead-up to the trial.

‘We are deeply concerned about how Donna Nelson’s case has been handled by the Japanese authorities,” Ms Robinson said in the statement before the trial.

“The conditions of her pre-trial detention, including being prohibited from communicating with her family, have caused Donna and her family great distress.

“We pay tribute to Donna’s daughters for the work they have done supporting and advocating for their Mum in incredibly difficult circumstances.

“We are pleased to be able to support them in this effort and will be closely monitoring to the conduct of her trial to ensure that Donna’s rights are respected.”

Perth grandmother Donna Ms Nelson. Picture: Supplied

Mrs Charles said her family was very concerned Ms Nelson’s mental and physical health and the conditions of her confinement in Chiba Prison since her arrest.

“Our mum is a very social person and it has been so hard to think of her isolated in a cell each day in a foreign country where she doesn’t even know the language,” Mrs Charles said in the National Justice Project’s statement.

“We are a really close family and we haven’t been able to speak with her directly for 21 months. We have been receiving regular updates about how she is going through her lawyers and consular staff.

“Our mum shouldn’t be treated as a criminal when she is the victim of a romance scam herself. She believed she was finally meeting a man who she had been speaking with online for over 18 months.”

Mrs Charles said they had heard from other heartbroken families worldwide who have had loved ones caught up in similar scams.

“We are grateful to the Australian Government and the staff from the Australian Embassy in Japan for all of the support they have provided our family.”

Originally published as Australian grandmother Donna Nelson sentenced to six years jail in Japan