Autistic U.K. teen who told family 'I'm going to Canada' later detained in Japan on drug charges
Article content
The family is adamant that Stephenson was allegedly the victim of gang members who befriended him and then apparently pressured him into travelling, first to Portugal, then Toronto, and finally Tokyo, where the arrest was made.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Ami Lee, Stephenson's older sister, told National Post by phone that his disappearance surprised the entire family.
Article content
Article content
'Because of his autism he says things but sometimes it's not always true,' she said. 'He kept saying, 'I'm going to Canada.' We didn't actually think that he was going until we woke up and he was gone. We now know that he flew from Heathrow to Portugal and then to Canada. He stayed in Toronto for five days before he flew to Japan. And then at Japan, Tokyo is where he got caught and arrested.'
Article content
Lee said Stephenson's original trip to Heathrow airport in London was with an older man who had befriended him. She said everything they know about the 18-year-old's movements is through the information provided by their lawyer.
Article content
'The man took Sean's phone and gave him a Nokia phone so Sean couldn't have contact with us,' she said. 'The man arranged for Sean to meet with another gentleman at a Toronto mall.'
Article content
That man, she said, as per information shared by her lawyer, allegedly gave him the suitcase filled with drugs to bring to Tokyo. 'They told him it was money, that it was fine, 'you're just dropping it to our friend.' And obviously Sean believed them.'
Article content
Article content
Lee said that they have hired an English-speaking lawyer in Japan to help her brother, but that the family hasn't been able to speak to him directly.
Article content
Article content
'He's on a no-contact ban,' she said. 'He's not allowed contact with us so we're paying for a lawyer. We only know by what she's telling us.'
Article content
She added that the family is particularly worried because of her brother's childlike nature. 'He's 18 but his solicitor said you can tell he's a child,' she said. 'He's very child-minded. That's part of his autism.'
Article content
Her page at justgiving.com has raised a little more than 1,000 pounds (about $2,000 Canadian) as of Tuesday.
Article content
'Help us bring Sean home,' the page reads. 'We are raising urgent funds for our beloved brother … who has been detained in Japan after being misled and exploited by individuals who took advantage of his vulnerability.'
Article content
In continues: 'Sean is a kind, gentle, and trusting young man with autism and multiple physical and mental health challenges. Though legally an adult, he has a much younger mental age and has always been eager to make friends — a trait that, heartbreakingly, was manipulated by those with far worse intentions. Sean has never been in trouble with the law. He lives at home in London, where he helps care for our unwell mother. He's also a devoted uncle to his nine nieces and nephews.'
Article content
The page concludes: 'Sean is not a criminal — he is a vulnerable young man who was preyed upon by those who saw his innocence as an opportunity. He deserves to be home with his family, not lost in a system he cannot navigate alone.'
Article content
A petition at change.org is also trying to raise awareness of Stephenson's case.
Article content
'Sean is currently in a Japanese prison after being found with Meth in a locked suitcase,' the petition reads. 'Sean has said he did not know what was in the case, but was threatened with having his legs broken and harm to his family if he didn't take it with him on a flight to Japan.'
Article content
It adds: 'We are taking this petition to the Japanese Embassy and the Foreign Office to ask that Sean's needs be taken into account.'
Article content
Lee said the family has gone to the police but added: 'The U.K. police have been no help whatsoever. So we're trying our best to get him off but obviously it's a high conviction rate out there. Japan has a 99.9 per cent conviction rate for that. It's a very serious crime in Japan but we're working with these lawyers to get all his medical forms and everything together.'
Article content
The case has received coverage in the British press, including stories in the Daily Mail and the Mirror. The Mirror quoted a spokesperson for Britain's National Crime Agency, who said: 'Investigations abroad were a matter for local authorities.' They added: 'The NCA's international functions can facilitate U.K. Law Enforcement to international requests. This remains a matter for the Met Police and you may speak to the FCDO regarding any consular assistance.'
Article content
A spokesperson for the country's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) then told the Mirror: 'We are supporting a British man who is detained in Japan and are in contact with the local authorities.'
Article content
The Daily Mail noted a case last year in which Australian national Donna Nelson was jailed for six years after being found guilty of smuggling 2 kilograms of meth into Tokyo, despite her claims she had been the victim of an online romance scam. Prosecutors had asked for a 10-year sentence and a $30,000 fine after she was caught with the drugs concealed in the bottom of her suitcase.
Article content
Stephenson's mother, Star Lee, told the Mail: 'I'm just so sad for Sean. I can't explain how I am feeling. It's a traumatic experience for all the family. We have not been allowed any direct contact with him. We hear all these bad things about prisons abroad. We don't know what's happening and we are just praying he is safe.'
Article content
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
6 days ago
- CTV News
U.S. grand jury indicts one of Haiti's most powerful gang leaders and one of his friends
Leader of the "G9 and Family" gang, Jimmy Cherizier, better known as Barbecue, shouts slogans with his gang members after giving a speech, as he leads a march against kidnappings, through the La Saline neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Oct. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File) SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A federal grand jury has indicted one of Haiti's most powerful gang leaders and a U.S. citizen accused of conspiring with him to violate U.S. sanctions and fund gang activities in the troubled Caribbean country, the U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday. Jimmy Chérizier, best known as 'Barbecue,' is a leader of a gang federation called Viv Ansanm that the U.S. designated as a foreign terrorist organization in May. Chérizier lives in Haiti, and the United States is offering up to US$5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. Chris Landberg, a senior U.S. State Department official, said his 'reign of terror and mass violence against Haiti must end.' However, Jake Johnston, author of 'Aid State' and international research director at the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research, questioned the government's reason for offering a bounty. 'This is a guy who is giving international media interviews regularly. I don't think the issue is being able to find him,' Johnston said, adding that the indictment doesn't represent a threat to Chérizier since he lives in Haiti. 'It's hard to see how it'll have much of an effect.' A policeman turned gang leader Chérizier is a former elite police officer who was fired in December 2018 and was later accused of organizing large-scale massacres in the slums of Grand Ravine in 2017, in La Saline in 2018 and in Bel-Air in 2019. More than 100 people were killed in the massacres, which Chérizier has denied organizing. 'Haiti is a hotspot right now … there is incredible violence going on there,' U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Tuesday, calling La Saline killings 'notorious because (Chérizier) both planned and participated' in the slaughter. In June 2020, Chérizier created the ' G9 Family and Allies,' an alliance that grew from nine gangs in lower Delmas and the Cite Soleil and La Saline slums to include more than a dozen gangs, according to a UN Security Council report. The alliance was blamed for the killings of some 145 people in Cite Soleil and the rape of multiple women. In December 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department issued civil sanctions against Chérizier and others accused of being involved in the massacres. The G-9 alliance later became part of the Viv Ansanm gang federation created in September 2023 that saw the merging of Haiti's two biggest gangs that were once bitter enemies: G-9 and G- Pèp. Since then, the federation has taken control of 90 per cent of Port-au-Prince. It launched multiple attacks on key government infrastructure in February 2024 and raided Haiti's two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. It also forced Haiti's main international airport to close for nearly three months. The surge in violence led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was locked out of his country while on an official visit to Kenya. The gang federation continues to attack once peaceful communities in Port-au-Prince, and it is accused of helping gangs in Haiti's central region. 'We want to change everything' Also indicted is Bazile Richardson, whom officials say is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti who grew up with Chérizier and lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Both are accused of leading a 'wide-ranging conspiracy' by directly soliciting money transfers from members of the Haitian diaspora to raise funds for Chérizier's gang activities in Haiti, according to the indictment. It stated that the money was used to pay the salaries of gang members and buy weapons from illegal dealers in Haiti. Most of the firearms are smuggled in from the U.S. since Haiti does not produce weapons. According to the indictment, there are two other unnamed co-conspirators from Haiti who live in New York and Massachusetts, and five others who live in Haiti. Chérizier said in a video posted on social media that Richardson never sent him money to finance anything in Haiti. 'If the FBI wants me, I'm here. I'm willing to collaborate with them on one condition, there can be no lies told,' Chérizier said, speaking in English. It was not immediately clear if Richardson had an attorney. The indictment noted that Chérizier and Richardson have acknowledged the sanctions against Chérizier, adding that the alleged conspiracy began around December 2020 and continued through January of this year. One voice memo that an unidentified co-conspirator in Haiti allegedly sent to Richardson stated: 'If I have backup, we will take the power, and you will be able to come back to your country. You will need to serve in the new government.' Richardson forwarded the alleged memo to Chérizier in June 2022, nearly a year after former Haitian president Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence. Another person identified only as a Haitian co-conspirator allegedly sent a voice memo to Richardson saying, 'we want to start a revolution in Haiti and are trying to collect funds.' Part of the plan was to have 1,000 individuals give $20 each or one million Haitians abroad give $1 each, as well as collect money from 1,000 people for each of Haiti's 10 regions, according to the indictment. 'With this money, they can buy pick-up trucks, weapons, ammunition, clothing to include T-shirts, boots and hats. We want to change everything in Haiti,' according to one alleged voice memo. In June 2021, Chérizier held a press conference announcing the start of a revolution. A crackdown on violence The indictment comes as gang violence continues to surge in Haiti's capital and beyond, with gunmen kidnapping an Irish missionary and seven other people, including a three-year-old, from an orphanage earlier this month. The office of Haiti's prime minister did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the indictment. Johnston said the broader strategy in the fight against gangs remains unclear. 'It does seem like there's sort of an escalatory framework happening both in Haiti and the U.S.,' he said. 'Where does that actually go?' Darren Cox, acting assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, said the bureau's Miami office is leading the effort to apprehend Chérizier. 'The FBI is focused more than ever on crushing violent crime,' Cox said. 'There is no safe haven for them, or the people like them.' Khalil reported from Washington, D.C. Dánica Coto And Ashraf Khalil, The Associated Press
National Post
6 days ago
- National Post
Olympic medalist Fred Kerley provisionally suspended for whereabouts failure
American Fred Kerley, a two-time 100m Olympic medalist, has been provisionally suspended for failing to notify anti-doping officials of his whereabouts, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced Tuesday. Article content Kerley, who took 100m silver in Tokyo and bronze last year in Paris as well as the 2022 world 100m crown, was suspended for 'failing to comply with his anti-doping whereabouts obligations,' according to the AIU. Article content Article content Elite athletes have strict requirements about informing anti-doping officials about their locations, such as at training camps or when traveling, and must provide a time and location each day to comply with rules regarding unannounced doping tests. Article content Three failures within a year to comply with the requirements, such as a missed test or inaccurate information given to the anti-doping agency, are punishable. Article content Kerley, 30, was a Diamond League champion in 2018 at 400m and third in the event at the 2019 worlds before dropping the distance to concentrate on running the 100. Article content After a runner-up effort to Italy's Marcell Jacobs at the Tokyo Olympics, Kerley took the world title in 2022 on home soil at Eugene in 9.76 seconds, his personal best before adding bronze to his Olympic medal collection last year at Paris. The provisional ban adds to an already chaotic 2025 campaign for Kerley, who withdrew from the US championships two weeks ago to end his hopes for running at the World Championships at Tokyo in September. Article content Kerley was arrested in Miami in early May after an altercation at the official hotel for athletes competing in Grand Slam Track, a new series launched by Michael Johnson this year. Article content
CTV News
11-08-2025
- CTV News
Spanish police bust ‘spiritual retreat' offering hallucinogenic drugs
MADRID, Spain — Spanish police said Monday that they had dismantled a group accused of running a 'spiritual retreat' that offered hallucinogenic drugs to clients from around the world. The gang is suspected of operating from a villa in the southeastern town of Pedreguer, charging over 1,000 euros (US$1,160) for multi-day stays that included consumption of ayahuasca, San Pedro cactus and a frog venom known as Kambo. 'The retreats were held in groups of up to twenty participants, who were attended to by six employees of the organization during the 'astral journeys',' the Guardia Civil police force said in a statement. A photo released by the force showed a large room with several mattresses on the floor, along with water bottles and tissue boxes and a guitar leaned against a wall. Police say the group held several retreats a week without the means to respond to intoxications, and generated hundreds of thousands of euros in undeclared income last year. It promoted the retreats online with promises of a 'mystical' experience and health benefits that drew clients 'from around the world, the majority from Europe'. Police arrested two men and a woman suspected of leading the group and placed five other people under investigation for allegedly acting as 'spiritual guides' at the retreats. They face charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and criminal association. Officers seized 11 litres of ayahuasca, 117 San Pedro cactus plants and several bottles of Kambo, an oozy substance harvested from the skin secretions of the Amazonian giant monkey tree frog. Police said the substances 'can have unpredictable, dangerous effects'.
