Australian grandmother says online lover tricked her into smuggling drugs into Japan

An Australian grandmother at the centre of a Japanese drug trafficking trial has told of her ordeal publicly for the first time, detailing her relationship with an online lover and accusing him of tricking her into smuggling meth.

Donna Nelson’s handcuffs were removed before she entered the witness box on Thursday, where she told the court she did not know the suitcase she arrived with at Narita Airport in January last year contained methamphetamine.

Donna Nelson gives evidence in Japanese court.Credit: Yoshitaka Enomoto

The 58-year-old from Perth, who ran as the Greens candidate for the West Australian electorate of Pearce in the 2022 federal election, broke down in tears as she described how she started online dating after her divorce because she was lonely and raising her five children as a single mother.

She sparked a relationship with an online lover called “Kelly”, who told her he was a fashion designer who lived in Japan.

The pair communicated for three years before making plans to meet in Tokyo.

“At no point did I feel like Kelly was scamming me,” Nelson testified.

The Nigerian man flew her business class from Perth to Singapore and then on to Laos.

“I felt very happy because he was treating me like the queen,” she said.

He allegedly asked her to collect a suitcase, which he was thinking about selling at his Japanese shop.

“The only place I can get that suitcase is in Laos,” Kelly messaged Nelson.

Donna Nelson claimed she was tricked into carrying the case into Japan.

“Okay, so what’s the plan? How are you? I miss you.”

Messages from Nelson to the man show her asking him to call and email more regularly.

“I don’t want to get hurt again,” she wrote.

“I will never hurt you, sweetheart,” he replied.

But when she arrived in Laos, there was no booking for her at the hotel. The man suggested she pay for a room at the Crown Plaza.

Nelson sent a message saying she was thinking about going home and was worried.

“Please wait. The guy is at work. He will come with $1500 as soon as he finishes,” a message to her read.

The court heard Nelson only received the suitcase from Kelly’s “business manager” 15 minutes before checking out to fly to Japan.

There were clothing samples inside, but she didn’t notice anything strange about the case and placed her belongings in it before heading for her flight to Tokyo.

Prosecutors questioned Nelson over a Japanese residence card Nelson said her online lover had sent to her.

They asked her whether she thought it strange that he was wearing glasses in the photo. At times, the grandmother bit back, saying she couldn’t read the characters and didn’t understand Japanese law.

The prosecutor then pointed out the address on the ID card was actually that at the office of Japanese prosecutors, but Nelson said she didn’t see the relevance of the question, and likened it to her asking him a question about a Perth address.

The trial continues.

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