Latest news with #NormanLeach
News.com.au
16-05-2025
- News.com.au
Aussie grandmother acquitted of drug smuggling in Brazil after falling for online romance scam
An Aussie grandmother is free to return home after being acquitted of drug smuggling charges in Brazil. Grandmother of 9, Verionca Watson, was arrested trying to leave Sao Paulo on December 1 last year when close to 1.5kg of cocaine was found in her hand luggage. She has always maintained that she was the victim of an online romance scam and now, a Brazilian judge has agreed. Sunshine Coast resident Ms Watson, 59, began an online friendship with a man known to her as Norman Leach, two years ago. The relationship later turned romantic and she was persuaded to fly to Brazil to meet him late last year. 'He introduced himself as an ex-army officer who was on his own suffering PTSD and so I thought I'd be a nice person and give him someone to talk to,' she told Seven News. While there, Ms Watson signed documents she believed were part of a lucrative investment deal and was convinced to take them to Sri Lanka as he could not go there himself. Hours before her flight was due to depart, Ms Watson was given a small suitcase with the documents inside. Within a hidden compartment custom officials found 1483g of cocaine. Ms Watson said she did look inside the bag prior to being stopped but didn't see anything suspicious. A Brazilian judge deemed Ms Watson was not guilty of drug smuggling and had been led along as part of an online romance scam. The prosecutors also recommended she be acquitted with the evidence suggesting that she did not have knowledge that drugs were within the bag. 'I am so happy and relieved that they actually listened to me and listened to my story,' she said. Ms Watson had already been released from Sao Paulo's Santana Women's Penitentiary on bail, but is now able to return to Australia. Ms Watson's husband of 16 years Stephen, had been sceptical when his wife informed him of her plan to travel to Brazil. She had never previously left Australia and told him some friends had offered to pay for her trip if she would sign some investment documents for them as she was 'the only one they trusted'. 'I said, 'how come they can't send you the paperwork here or get someone else?' And she said, 'sorry, they trust me',' he told Seven News last year. 'And I said, 'how do you know these people?' And then she goes, 'I've known her for a while. I met him online'. I said, 'but you don't know him personally. You just met him'. You don't know what they are.'
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Major update on Aussie grandmother who said she was tricked into becoming a drug mule in South America
A Brazilian judge has cleared an Aussie grandmother of drug smuggling charges after he accepted she had been duped by a man she met online. Sunshine Coast grandmother Veronica Watson, 59, was recently released on bail from Santana Women's Penitentiary in São Paulo, but was forced to remain in the country while fighting the charges in court. She was arrested at the city's airport on December 1 after customs officials found close to 1.5kg of cocaine in a hidden compartment in her suitcase. Six months later, a judge accepted Ms Watson's claim she was tricked into the smuggling operation by a man she had struck up an online friendship with. 'I am so happy and relieved that they actually listened to me and listened to my story,' she told 7News. 'I felt all along that I was telling the truth.' She will now be free to return to Australia having been found not guilty of all charges. Ms Watson, who is married, said she was given the suitcase only hours before her flight out of the country and had looked inside but saw 'nothing suspicious'. She had gone to the South American country after striking up a friendship with a man online two years earlier, who claimed his name was Norman Leach. 'He introduced himself as an ex-army officer who was on his own suffering PTSD and so I thought I'd be a nice person and give him someone to talk to,' she told 7News. The broadcaster was shown records of 'thousands' of text messages and calls between Ms Watson and the mystery man, who she had never met in person, and which eventually turned romantic. She said she was 'excited to go to another country' when, after two years, she was asked by him to go to Brazil to collect investment documents that would fund their life together and deliver them to Sri Lanka because he could not go himself. Ms Watson's husband of 16 years, Stephen, said she had met some people online who promised to pay for her holiday if she went over to get the documents in person. He said that he only found out about the trip when Ms Watson asked if she could go to Brazil over dinner one night. 'I said, "what do you want to go to Brazil for?" - she goes, "I need to go over there to sign paperwork" and I said, "do you even know what you're signing?"' Stephen asked Ms Watson how well she knew the people she'd met online and she replied they had only come into contact recently and that it wasn't a particularly personal relationship. Ms Watson also told her husband that the documents were written in Portuguese and that she would 'have someone there to explain'. 'I said, "that's not good enough"... [but] she was adamant [she would] go,' Stephen added. Ms Watson was represented by local lawyer Pedro Mendonca who said the judge had been convinced his client 'could not have had knowledge that there were drugs inside that bag'. Mr Mendonca said he had seen many other woman manipulated into becoming drug mules. 'I don't want to go back there (prison), I don't know how I'd go,' Ms Watson said before being acquitted. She said it was a total shock when security officials at the airport stopped her. 'I want to get my story out, if I can save one woman then I've done my job,' she said.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Australian grandmother claims she was tricked into drug trafficking after cocaine was found in her luggage
An Australian grandmother of nine being held in Brazil on drug trafficking charges has spoken out to reveal how she claims she was tricked into becoming a drug mule. Veronica Watson, 59, from the Sunshine Coast was recently released on bail from Santana Women's Penitentiary in São Paulo, but has to remain in the country as she prepares to fight the charge in court. She was arrested at the city's airport on December 1 last year after customs officials found close to 1.5kg of cocaine in a hidden compartment in her suitcase. Ms Watson said she was given the suitcase only hours before her flight out of the country and had looked inside but saw 'nothing suspicious'. She had gone to the South American country after striking up a friendship with a man online two years earlier, who claimed his name was Norman Leach. 'He introduced himself as an ex-army officer who was on his own suffering PTSD and so I thought I'd be a nice person and give him someone to talk to,' she told Seven News. The broadcaster was shown records of 'thousands' of text messages and calls between Ms Watson and the mystery man, who she had never met in person, and which eventually turned romantic. She said she was 'excited to go to another country' when, after two years, she was asked by him to go to Brazil to collect investment documents that would fund their life together and deliver them to Sri Lanka because he could not go himself. Ms Watson's husband of 16 years, Stephen, said she had met some people online who promised to pay for her holiday if she went over to get the documents in person. He said that he only found out about the trip when Ms Watson asked if she could go to Brazil over dinner one night. 'I said, ''what do you want to go to Brazil for?'' - she goes, ''I need to go over there to sign paperwork'' and I said, ''do you even know what you're signing?'',' he explained. Stephen asked Ms Watson how well she knew the people she'd met online and she replied they had only come into contact recently and that it wasn't a particularly personal relationship. Ms Watson also informed her partner that if the documents were written in Portuguese and that she would 'have someone there to explain'. 'I said, ''that's not good enough'' ... [but] she was adamant [she would] go,' Stephen added. Ms Watson is being represented by a local lawyer who said he have seen many other woman who have been manipulated into becoming drug mules. He secured the release of another Australian woman who spent several months in the same São Paulo prison. 'I don't want to go back there, I don't know how I'd go,' Ms Watson said from her basic one bedroom flat in the city. She said it was a total 'shock' when security officials at the airport stopped her. 'I want to get my story out If I can save one woman then I've don my job,' she said.
