A British family has set up a
crowdfunding campaign
in the hopes of raising money for the legal fees of Sean Stephenson, an autistic teenager who was arrested at Tokyo airport on June 21 with a suitcase containing 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine.
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.
Ami Lee, Stephenson’s older sister, told National Post by phone that his disappearance surprised the entire family.
“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.”
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.
“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.”
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.”
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.
“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.”
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.”
Her page at justgiving.com has raised a little more than 1,000 pounds (about $2,000 Canadian) as of Tuesday.
“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.”
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.”
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.”
A petition
at change.org
is also trying to raise awareness of Stephenson’s case.
“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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
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