Daughters joyful to 'breathe same air' as Donna Nelson returns to Perth

Grandmother Donna Nelson was greeted with lots of hugs — and her favourite cappuccinos — on her return to Perth from Japan under an international prison transfer her daughters say has "lifted a weight" out of their lives.

The 60-year-old was arrested in January 2023 at Narita International Airport and charged with trying to import almost 2 kilograms of methamphetamine after she was tricked by a love scammer into carrying a bag filled with drugs.

She was found guilty of drug smuggling and sentenced to six years in jail, three of which she has already served at a Japanese prison.

The former Greens candidate and Aboriginal health advocate is now being held at Bandyup Women's Prison in Perth, an outcome two of her five daughters say they and their mother could not be happier with.

"She's so happy, she's ecstatic. She's so happy to be able to have a cappuccino again," Ashlee Charles said of her mum.

"She's missed her cappuccinos. She was a regular cappuccino drinker… and she never had one all this time (in Japan)."

Ms Charles said in addition to indulging in her favourite coffee, her mother also enjoyed a lot of time with family and met her youngest grandchild for the first time.

"She got at least 10 hugs yesterday. She got so many hugs. We tried to make up as much as we could."

'Breathing the same air'

The prisoner transfer that brought Nelson home began last year after she abandoned her final avenue for appeal.

Daughter Kristal Hilaire, who had visited her mother in Japan, said the process of bringing her home had been stressful.

"It's been very secretive and we've had to put a lot of trust in our government and the Japanese government," she said. "That's been hard."

The family said they only found out when their mother would return at the last minute, and could not stop crying with relief once she contacted them from Perth.

"It's like a weight was lifted that you'd forgotten was there, because it became normal to be wearing that weight and today you wake up and you're feeling renewed," Ms Hilaire said.

Ms Charles said she was looking forward to having her phone "blow up again" with calls from her mother, who used to call her daughters at least once a day but was unable to contact them on any regular basis from jail in Japan.

"It's weird to think that we are breathing the same air as her now and we literally can just drive past where she is," she said.

Nelson's family are uncertain about the future, but hopeful she could be up for parole in February.

For now, they are just grateful to the authorities for bringing her home.