Chiba –

Donna Nelson thought she had found the perfect match online — a Nigerian man who owned a sprawling global fashion business, appeared to have a good background and displayed a caring personality.

But the 58-year-old grandmother of Aboriginal Australian descent says her life was turned upside down when she learned that the man she was falling for had tricked her into smuggling 2 kilograms of methamphetamine into Japan.

That's the case Nelson is pleading before the Chiba District Court, which is weighing whether she is guilty of drug smuggling or merely a victim of an elaborate romance scam. If found guilty, she may be sentenced to prison and a hefty fine, with the prosecutors seeking 10 years of imprisonment and a ¥3 million ($20,000) penalty.

The number of romance scams has been on the rise in Japan this year, with authorities working to raise awareness. These scams typically involve courting someone, often with promises of marriage, to persuade them to lend money or take other actions for financial gain, only for the perpetrator to disappear once they achieve their goal.

According to the National Police Agency, 2,956 cases of romance scams involving social media were reported to police this year through the end of October, up by 1,689 cases from the same period last year.

Nelson has pleaded not guilty to the charges of drug trafficking. Her ruling is scheduled to be handed down on Wednesday.

In July 2020, through an online dating app the defendant met a man named Kelly, who described himself as a fashion designer who owns 27 outlets around the world and said that he has three adult children who appeared to be successful in their careers. Kelly, who is about the same age as Nelson, claimed that he is a Japan resident through a past marriage with a Japanese woman.

Their relationship took on a more serious tone in the beginning of 2022.

They eventually agreed to get married, and the plan was for Kelly to move to Australia, where Nelson lives, and open up a branch of his fashion business there. Kelly sprinkled Nelson with love, telling her that he would love her forever, according to a closing argument by Nelson’s lawyer Rie Nishida.

“At the time, I believed he loved me,” Nelson said during questioning. She said she did not suspect that he was a scammer because he never asked for money. “I was gullible enough to believe him.”

As more borders opened up as the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, they began to discuss ways to meet up. Despite Nelson wanting to meet up directly in the destination country, Kelly kept pressuring her to stop at other countries on the way to pick up clothing samples, saying that he was too busy to do it himself.

“I am crying because of your assumption,” Kelly told her via text messages when Nelson accused him of using her for his business and refused to pick up the clothing samples. “What wife don’t listen to the husband.”

In early December 2022, Nelson and Kelly planned to meet up in Japan. He asked her to pick up a suitcase in Laos on the way, saying that he wanted to expand his business into selling suitcases and wanted her to bring the sample to Japan.

He reasoned that the suitcase may get lost or damaged if he asked for it to be sent through delivery, since Laos is a developing country, and told her that his business assistant would bring her the suitcase.

When she arrived at Narita Airport, officials deemed the suitcase to be suspicious after an X-ray revealed dozens of long green objects inside. Upon inspection, they found 2 kg of methamphetamine neatly hidden in a false bottom compartment.

When Nelson saw the drugs, she was so shocked that she started shaking, and she continues to be traumatized by the discovery to this day, the defense lawyer Nishida said.

Two years later, her family and friends have been attending her weekslong trial in Chiba in hopes of seeing the court hand down a not-guilty verdict.

“My children, my grandchildren, they’re the innocent victims,” Nelson said during the trial, breaking down in tears. “I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”