“Australian Story” turns its lens this week to a chilling tale of online deception, international intrigue, and a grandmother caught in a web far beyond her imagining. Donna Nelson, a Perth grandmother and respected community leader, found herself at the centre of a drug smuggling operation in Japan, a nightmare scenario stemming from an online romance that turned sour.
Nelson’s story began like countless others in the digital age: an online connection, a budding romance, and the promise of love. What she didn’t know was that her “fiancé,” a man calling himself Kelly, was leading her into a trap. Her January 2023 trip to Tokyo to meet him ended abruptly at the airport, where she was arrested with two kilograms of methamphetamine tucked away in her suitcase.
Despite the court acknowledging that Nelson was a victim of a sophisticated scam, the 59-year-old Nyaki Nyaki woman was sentenced to six years in a Japanese prison. The verdict shocked her daughters, who had traveled to Japan confident in her exoneration. Adding to the ordeal, Nelson spent 22 months in solitary confinement before her trial, a period her lawyer describes as pushing her to the brink of suicide, leaving her barely able to speak.
The details of the scam are as disturbing as the sentence itself. Kelly, the online phantom, booked Nelson’s flight with a layover in Laos, a known drug trafficking hub. Yet, despite these red flags, authorities appear to have made no effort to investigate “Kelly” or his network, either in Japan or Australia.
“Australian Story” goes behind the scenes with Nelson’s family as they reel from the sentence and prepare for an appeal. The episode includes commentary from lawyer Luke McMahon, highlighting the manipulative tactics employed by romance scammers and the devastating consequences for their victims. This is a cautionary tale for the digital age. The episode airs this Monday, April 28 at 8:00 PM on ABC Australia and ABC iview.
