A British teenager has been arrested on suspicion of drug-smuggling in Georgia.
Bella May Culley, 18, sparked a missing persons investigation after disappearing while travelling in Thailand.
Her family, in Billingham, County Durham, raised concern with Thai authorities and the British Foreign Office after they lost contact with her for several days.
Last night, it emerged Culley has been arrested by authorities in Georgia who say large quantities of marijuana and hashish were found in her suitcase at Tblisi airport.
Footage of the teenager handcuffed to a police officer for her court appearance was broadcast in Georgia where authorities say she faces 20 years in jail or life imprisonment.
Here The i Paper looks at what is known, and what remains unanswered, about the case so far.
Culley’s mother Lyanne Kennedy told TeessideLive her daughter left for a three-week trip to the Philippines just after Easter.
She was accompanied by a friend and the pair had been travelling around the islands and keeping in regular contact with family.
Culley is believe to have flown to Pattaya, the beach resort in Thailand, on 3 May and had been posting videos and pictures on her social media accounts.
In one post on TikTok Culley wrote: “Blonde or brunette? Erm, how about we get up to criminal activities side by side like Bonnie and Clyde making heavy figures.”
In a caption she added: “I don’t care if we on the runnnnn baby long as i’m next to uuu.'”
In posts on TikTok and Instagram, Culley has appeared to show off cash, with a pile of £10 and £20 notes held together by a hairband.
When did teenager go missing?
Ms Kennedy says she last heard from her daughter in a message at around 5.30pm on Saturday, 10 May in which she said she would talk to her via FaceTime later that evening.
However, she never called and then when relatives tried to get in touch they found her phone was switched off.
A missing persons report was raised with authorities in Thailand and Culley’s father Neil and sister Kerrie have flown out to Bangkok to search for answers.
“I just want her home and safe or to hear her gorgeous little voice,” her mother Ms Kennedy said.
At that stage, Thai police said they were treating the case with “high priority” and that they were working with Cleveland Police, the local force for Culley’s family in Teesside.
A Foreign Commonwealth and Deevelopment Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who is reported missing in Thailand.”
Culley has now been found almost 4,000 miles away in Tblisi, the capital of Georgia.
Police say they found up to 12kg (26lbs) of marijuana and just over 2kg (4.4lbs) of the narcotic drug hashish in a travel bag at the airport.
A police spokesperson in Thailand said it was likely Culley had been “lured by criminals” to be a drugs mules in exchange for a “holiday of a lifetime”.
Gangs are known to target young vulnerable travellers and the UK’s National Crime Agency has previously warned of an increase in arrests over passengers attempting to smuggle cannabis by air from Thailand.
Culley’s Georgian lawyer sought her release on bail and told reporters: “My client is currently exercising the right to remain silent, so we will provide detailed information later, once they decide how to proceed.”
Is Culley pregnant?
Culley, a former nursing student, is likely to be held in a female-only prison.
During the court hearing, she told the judge she is pregnant but otherwise remained silent.
She was refused bail on the grounds she may try to flee the country and is now believed to be in No 5 Women’s Penitentiary near Rustavi, an ex-Soviet prison.
Her grandad, William Culley, told The Sun: “I’m terrified she’s in for a long sentence and I’ll never see her again. I’m 80 years old.
“I think she’s got sucked into something, somehow. She’s not an international drug trafficker.
“It’s all very strange. She must have been taken advantage of.”
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Four unanswered questions as Brit teenager Bella Culley accused of drug smuggling )
Also on site :
- Metal Ions: The Next Frontier in Diabetes Management?
- Who are Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer? Meet the Eurovision 2025 presenters
- Saudi Arabia and US reach consensus on ending the war in Gaza