Donna Nelson charged with importing almost 2kg of ‘illegal stimulants’ into Japan

A West Australian grandmother and prominent indigenous leader has been charged with importing nearly two kilograms of an illegal stimulant into Japan, the country’s prosecutors say.

Key Points: Donna Nelson was arrested in Tokyo on January 4th. She was charged with importing nearly 2 kilograms of drugs Her family says she was the victim of an online romance scam

Donna Nelson has been detained in Japan since she flew into the country on January 4.

Her family say she was lured on an international trip by a romance scam and do not believe she would have knowingly been involved in drug dealing.

According to a complaint filed with the Chiba Prefectural District Court, Ms. Nelson took a suitcase containing approximately 1.9 kilograms of stimulants on board a plane at Laos International Airport on January 3.

It says she then traveled through Vietnam and took the suitcase on board another plane bound for Japan.

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She was then allegedly discovered by customs officials at Narita Airport, which is just outside Tokyo in Chiba Prefecture.

Authorities would not specify the specific drug or drugs Ms. Nelson was allegedly seized with.

She is charged with violating the Stimulants Control Act and Customs Act.

Family says Donna Nelson was victim of scam

Ms Nelson’s family told the ABC last week that they had not had direct contact with her since the day before her arrest, when she was in Laos.

Donna Nelson’s family is concerned for her welfare. (Provided by: Family)

They say the former Greens federal candidate was offered a trip to Japan by a man she met on an online dating app, and with whom she had been communicating online for months.

They say they were told by her lawyer that she was approached by a person claiming to be a business associate of the man she was traveling to, and he asked her to carry luggage to Japan.

They also say this was her first trip to Asia and she was not well traveled in non-English speaking areas.

Ms Nelson ran for the Greens in the 2022 federal election. (Provided by: Australian Greens)

Ms Nelson chaired Derbarl Yerrigan Aboriginal Health service and ran a charity that received $1.65 million in federal funding in recent years.

She was relieved of the position of chairman by Derbarl Yerrigan after her detention in Japan was revealed.

The organization said it had to remove her because it could not perform administrative functions without the chairman.