A West Australian grandmother and prominent Indigenous leader has been charged with importing almost two kilograms of an illegal stimulant into Japan, the country’s prosecutors say.
Key points:
- Donna Nelson was arrested in Tokyo on January 4
- She has been charged with importing almost 2 kilograms of drugs
- Her family say she is the victim of an online romance scam
Donna Nelson has been held in Japan since flying into the country on January 4.
Her family say she was enticed onto an international trip by a romance scam and do not believe she would have knowingly been involved in drug trafficking.
An indictment filed to the Chiba prefecture district court states Ms Nelson took a suitcase containing approximately 1.9 kilograms of stimulants onboard a plane at Laos International Airport on January 3.
It says she then transited through Vietnam and took the suitcase onboard another plane bound for Japan.
She was allegedly then discovered by customs officials in Narita Airport, which is just outside Tokyo in the Chiba prefecture.
She is charged with the violation of the Stimulants Control Law and Customs Law.
Family says Donna Nelson was victim of scam
Ms Nelson’s family told the ABC last week they had not had direct contact with her since the day before her arrest, when she was in Laos.
They say the former Greens’ federal candidate was offered an all-expenses-paid…
