Malaysian court acquits Australian woman convicted for drug trafficking

The Federal Court in Kuala Lumpur has acquitted an Australian woman sentenced to death for drug-trafficking in Malaysia by a lower court, quashing her earlier conviction. Maria Exposto from Cabramatta in Sydney's west was found guilty of smuggling more than a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine from Melbourne from Shanghai in May 2018. The 55-year-old woman was arrested in the Malaysian capital in 2014 while in transit. Exposto's execution also comes under the cases which have been exempted from the death penalty over drug trafficking and other offences as the government has currently placed a moratorium on executions while it reforms legislation. In the past 30 years, three Australian nationals were executed for drug trafficking in Malaysia which had affected the diplomatic relations. 

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Maria Exposto was duped by online lover into smuggling

On the other hand, Exposto denied all charges and claimed innocence. She told the court that she was duped into carrying the bag with the drugs by a friend of her online boyfriend, who claimed to be a US soldier serving in Afghanistan. Shafee Abdullah, Exposto’s lawyer, told reporters outside the court after the ruling that she is innocent and that he had always believed her. The lawyer added that the judgment has a high impact and will be an eye-opener for judges. He concluded that the case is an illustration, how an innocent woman can be scammed on the internet. Immigration authorities would hold Exposto in custody for a few days until her visa to Australia is approved, informed Abdullah. 

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Exposto reportedly fell for an international drug ring posing online as a US Army captain named Captain Daniel Smith. It was her emails that served as evidence in the trial. It was noted that she was lured to Shanghai in 2014 to sign her online lover's army retirement papers so they could get married. In China, a man who claimed to be Captain Smith's army friend handed her the papers and convinced her to carry a bag of Christmas presents back to Australia. He testified that during her transit through Kuala Lumpur Airport, she mistakenly followed exiting passengers and volunteered the backpack to customs officers. Following this, they found the drugs stitched into the lining and placed her under arrest.

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