Japanese court rejects an appeal by Australian who says she was tricked into smuggling drugs

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by an Australian woman who said she was tricked into smuggling drugs by a man she hoped to marry, allowing a six-year prison sentence issued by a lower court to stand.

The Tokyo High Court said Donna Nelson, 59, from Perth, Australia, was guilty of violating the stimulants control and customs laws. The Chiba District Court in December sentenced her to six years in prison and a fine of 1 million yen ($6,725).

Nelson was arrested at Japan’s Narita International Airport, near Tokyo, on Jan. 3, 2023, after customs officials found about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of amphetamines, a stimulant, hidden under a false bottom in a suitcase she was carrying as checked luggage.

Nelson has told the court she was unaware of the drugs hidden in the suitcase and that she was carrying it for a man she hoped to marry.

The man, called Kelly, whom she met online in 2020, told her he was the Nigerian owner of a fashion business. In 2023, he paid her to travel to Japan via Laos, and asked her to collect dress samples from an acquaintance in the Southeast Asian country. She was supposed to meet him in Japan but he never showed up.

On Thursday, presiding Judge Takeshi Irie dismissed Nelson’s defense lawyers’ request for her acquittal and argument that she was a romance scam victim with no awareness or intent of drug trafficking for profit.

The judge said Nelson was fully capable and had time to think and realize that something was wrong with the man’s request.

Nelson, wearing a dark blue suit and seated in front of the judge, listened to the sentencing quietly, at times shaking her head.

The judge said she has 14 days to decide whether to appeal to the top court.

One of Nelson’s daughters, Kristal Hilaire, said her mother has not made a decision.

Listening to the sentencing was hard, Hilaire said after the verdict. “I felt it was wrong … At times I didn’t really want to hear it.”

“I had been so hopeful that this was going to be the end. It’s very tiring to keep fighting this fight. I just thought we all would be able to rest and be going home with her.”