A 51-year-old Sydney mother of four has been charged with drug possession after appearing before a Malaysian court.

If found guilty she will face a mandatory death sentence.

Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto was arrested at Kuala Lumpur international airport on December 7 after customs officials found 1.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine stitched into the compartment of a backpack.

Her lawyer argues she is a naive drug mule and that she thought she was carrying retirement papers for a US soldier serving in Afghanistan.

“It is a very strong chance she is one of those naive and innocent mules that has been used by some unscrupulous people,” Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said.

This article appeared originally in Australia’s ABC News.