NIGERIAN MAN LINKED TO AUSTRALIAN GRANDMOTHER’S DRUG SMUGGLING CONVICTION IN JAPAN
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
A Nigerian man identified only as Kelly has been linked to the conviction of a 59-year-old Australian grandmother, Donna Nelson, who was sentenced to six years imprisonment in Japan for drug smuggling.
According to a report by the Daily Mail, Nelson, a native of Perth, Western Australia, was convicted by a Japanese court in December 2024 after being found guilty of importing two kilogrammes of methamphetamine into the country.
Nelson was arrested at Narita International Airport, near Tokyo, after Japanese customs officials discovered the drugs concealed in her luggage.
Investigations revealed that Nelson met Kelly online in 2020, where he allegedly posed as a Nigerian fashion entrepreneur and promised to marry her.
Kelly reportedly financed her trip to Japan via Laos in 2023, instructing her to collect what he described as “dress samples” from one of his business associates in Southeast Asia.
However, upon her arrival in Japan, Kelly failed to appear, and Nelson was subsequently arrested after officials uncovered the illicit substances hidden in her tampered suitcase.
Throughout her trial, Nelson maintained her innocence, insisting she had no knowledge of the drugs and believed she was assisting her fiancé’s business. Her legal team argued that she had been deceived by an international romance scam.
After losing her appeal at the Tokyo High Court in September 2025, Nelson’s daughter, Ashlee Charles, confirmed that the family had decided not to pursue any further appeal to the Supreme Court.
“She’s ending the fight against her conviction and will apply to serve her sentence in Australia under the international prisoner transfer process,” Charles told the Australian Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Kelly’s whereabouts remain unknown, and Japanese authorities have yet to confirm whether any steps are being taken to locate or prosecute him.
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