Love Mules

Denham Hitchcock returns to 7News Spotlight this Sunday, joining Michael Usher and Mylee Hogan in a story on Australian "Love Mules" - women lured into the crime of smuggling drugs across international borders.

One case includes Donna Nelson, recently profiled on Australian Story, sentenced to six years in prison in Japan.

It starts with a message. A charming stranger. A promise of love. And it ends in a foreign prison cell.

This Sunday 7NEWS Spotlight exposes the heartbreaking crime wave targeting some of Australia's most vulnerable – women looking for love, who are being manipulated into smuggling drugs across international borders.

In a global investigation spanning Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong, 7NEWS Spotlight's team of reporters Michael Usher, Mylee Hogan and Denham Hitchcock expose the cruel deception behind the so-called "Love Mules", women like Veronica Watson and Donna Nelson who were lured into romance scams so convincing they risked everything.

Grandmother of nine Veronica was arrested in December, with 1.5 kilograms of cocaine in her luggage, leaving Sao Paulo Airport. She's always maintained she was scammed by a man posing as a love interest.

"I trusted him," Veronica said through tears. "He said he loved me. I thought we were going to get married."

Donna's story is just as devastating. A mother of five and former federal political candidate, she believed she was flying to Japan to meet her fiancé. Instead, she was arrested with two kilograms of methamphetamine in her suitcase and sentenced to six years in a Japanese prison.

These women aren't just criminals. They're victims of a sophisticated and deeply manipulative scam, one that plays out over years, with thousands of messages, video calls, and even detailed wedding plans.

In this exclusive investigation, 7NEWS Spotlight tracks down the scammers behind the heartbreak. Going undercover, Denham Hitchcock follows the trail of the man known only as "Kelly" through the backstreets of Hong Kong, uncovering the bars he frequents and speaking to those who've seen him.

Denham Hitchcock said: "These online relationships were real, in both cases they went on for two and a half years. Messages and video calls. This is a new type of scam, insidious, evil and cruel.

"We're not just telling these women's stories; we're attempting to track down the people who destroyed their lives and show how it can happen to anyone."