The family of Perth grandmother Donna Nelson has thanked the Federal Government for arranging a rare international prisoner transfer that brought her home from Japan. Ms Nelson, 60, had been jailed since 2023 after she was caught carrying meth hidden in a suitcase, a crime she says she did not knowingly commit. Her daughters said the first hug in almost four years came on Friday night. She is now at Bandyup Women's Prison, where she can have contact with visitors and make phone calls. Her daughters said living nearby brings great relief to the family.
A Perth grandmother jailed for drug smuggling in Japan has returned home to serve the rest of her sentence in Australia. Donna Nelson, 60, landed in Perth under an international prisoner transfer and reunited with family at Bandyup women's prison. A Japanese court sentenced her to six years in 2024 for bringing two kilograms of methamphetamine into the country. Nelson told the court she had been unaware of the drugs, which were hidden in a suitcase she carried for a man she met online. Her appeal was rejected in September 2025.