Japanese court sentences “love scam victim” to prison for drug smuggling

An Australian woman has been sentenced to six years in prison by a court in Japan after she was found guilty of smuggling methamphetamine into the country.

The woman claimed that she was the victim of an online romance scam, however, the court decided to ignore it.

The court found the woman, identified as Donna Nelson from Perth, guilty of smuggling 2kg of the drug which was hidden under the false bottom of her suitcase when she landed at Narita Airport, near Tokyo, from Laos in January 2023. .

Prosecutors appealed to the court to give the woman a 10-year sentence and a $30,000 fine.

The 58-year-old woman said she was unaware of the drugs hidden in the suitcase she said had been given to her by a man she had met on a social media platform in 2020 and had plans to marry.

Nelson said she was ordered to take the suitcase to Japan and deliver it to the man she thought was her online lover.

The man, whom Nelson called “Kelly,” had told him he was a Nigerian who ran a fashion business.

The man reportedly paid for her flight to Japan but did not show up when she arrived at Narita Airport.

The couple had reportedly shared numerous text messages and spoken several times in video chats.

Prosecutors said the case had links to an online romance scam, but insisted the woman knew what she had inside her suitcase when she left for Laos.

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After her arrival in Japan, Nelson did not declare the bag and she claimed to be in the country on business.

“If she had nothing to hide, why didn’t she just tell the truth and why didn’t she tell customs that she was going to see her fiancé?” prosecutor Ogata said in court, as reported by ABC.

The woman’s daughters, however, claimed she was innocent. Speaking in court, one of Nelson’s daughters, Kristal Hilaire, said her mother was “a good person” at a hearing last month.

“She thought she would come to Japan because of her love story. She had no other intentions other than that. And that’s what we need everyone to know and hear in court this week,” Hilaire added.

(With contributions from agencies)