WA grandmother jailed in Japan returns to Australia in prison transfer arrangement

A WA grandmother, who was jailed in Japan after being duped into smuggling drugs, is back on home soil.

Donna Nelson was flown back to Perth on Thursday night in an undercover operation and taken to Bandyup Women’s Prison.

It was another 12 hours before the 60-year-old was reunited with her family on Friday, after almost four years.

Nelson's daughter Kristal Hilaire said getting to hug her mum after so long was better than she imagined it'd be.

"The first thing she did was just held her eldest grandson and they were just in their own moment," she told 9News after leaving Bandyup Women's Prison.

"The rest of us had our tissues out and watched on waiting for our turn to have a hug.

"It was a very special moment that we had dreamed about many times and it was so much better than what we'd even pictured in our dreams."

Hilaire's sister Ashlee Charles agreed.

"It was a surreal feeling, long overdue and very emotional," she told 9News.

"I think I've been holding back a lot of emotions this whole time just trying to stay strong and I think I finally got to let my guard down today."

Nelson was arrested at Narita Airport near Tokyo in January 2023, while on her way to meet a man she was planning to marry after an online relationship.

But the lover she knew as Kelly was a Nigerian scammer who tricked her into taking a suitcase with almost two kilos of meth hidden inside.

The grandmother turned into an unwitting drug smuggler.

Nelson stood trial in Japan and was found guilty, sentenced to six years behind bars.

A High Court appeal last September was thrown out, so her family turned their focus to trying to secure a prison transfer.

Charles only got confirmation her mother was home in a surprise phone call on Thursday night.

"At first it was hard to understand her because she was crying a lot, but she said 'hey babe', and then she said 'it's so good to hear your voice'," Charles said.

The visits today were a chance to laugh, cry and share precious family moments.

"She met her youngest grandchild today and she'll be home for the next grandchild being born," Hilaire said.

Nelson's arrival back in Perth doesn't signal the end of her jail time.

Under the prison transfer arrangement, the earliest she could walk free on parole is February, 9News understands.

But after years of solitary confinement in Tokyo, the grandmother is now adjusting to being back in WA and at an Australian prison with little luxuries like an old-fashioned stew meal.