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.