Bella May Culley: Everything that’s happened since her arrest over drug smuggling charges

A teenager from the north east was arrested in Georgia earlier this month after she was accused of drug smuggling.

18-year-old Bella May Culley is currently detained after allegedly attempting to smuggle approximately 14 kilograms (30 pounds) of cannabis and hashish.

She is being detained for 55 days while the prosecution investigates, but it is understood that this could be extended by up to seven months.

Bella had been travelling Asia before being stopped upon entry to Georgia

via Facebook

The student nurse had been traveling through Southeast Asia, including Thailand and the Philippines when she attempted to enter Georgia.

After flying to Thailand on May 3rd, she maintained a social media presence and contact with her family until May 9th. Bella’s trip before her arrest appeared luxurious, involving scuba diving and swimming.

She was arrested at Tbilisi International Airport on May 6th after allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs into the country, which were reportedly concealed in hermetically sealed packages within her luggage.

Bella, from Billingham, County Durham, reappeared within days at a Tbilisi courthouse, facing charges of drug smuggling and a sentence of 20 years to life in prison.

‘I might never see her again’

via Facebook

Bella’s father, Niel Culley, flew out to the Black Sea nation following the news of Bella’s arrest earlier this month. The 49-year-old was not able to see his daughter, but has vowed to stay in Georgia for “as long as it takes”.

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In comments made to the Daily Mail from his home in Billingham, Teeside, Bella May’s grandfather William Culley appeared distraught. He described the confusion and limbo of her situation. He commented: “I am terrified that she is in for a long sentence. I might never see her again – I’m eighty years old”.

Mr Culley described his granddaughter as “intelligent”, “not daft” and “normal”, particularly not an 18-year-old who would knowingly involve herself in drugs. She had recently completed a college course in Middlesbrough and was making plans to be a nurse after her luxurious holiday.

The nursing student is also described by her lawyer as currently “terrified and confused” after being detained following the planned sting operation by the Black Sea nations’s Special Tasks Departments, a Georgian unit that only deals with the most high profile cartel and organised crime cases.

A former police general and drug crime expert, Jemal Janashia, told the Mail: “The quantity of drugs found on her makes in hard to remain optimistic.

“It’s a grim situation – people have been sentences to eight years or more for possessing 20 times less in the past decade.”

Bella’s social media posts before her arrest show her smoking cannabis

via Instagram

The teenager has faced further scrutiny for her recent social media presence, including social media posts in which Culley flaunts bands of money on TikTok and Instagram, and appearing to smoke cannabis in the back of a car.

Other posts reference American outlaws Bonnie and Clyde as well as quotes such as “I don’t care if we on the runnnn baby as long as im next u uuu”.

Another video posted on April 1st said: “Blonde or brunette? Erm how about we get up to criminal activities side by side like Bonnie n Clyde making heavy figures and f***ing on balconies over the world.”

In court, Bella May has chosen to remain silent about the charges brought against her, facing an extensive sentence in Tblisi Prison No5, Tblisis only female prison.

The conditions in the ex soviet prison have been previously been criticised due to severe overcrowding in the facility by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Penal Reform International, who have urged Georgian government to end ill treatment in their prisons since 2006.

The teenager announced in court last week that she was pregnant

via Instagram

Whilst being held, Bella took to the stand to announce that she was pregnant in a hearing last Tuesday, 13th May. Standing at Tbilisi city court, the teenager added she would reserve the right to remain silent. She was then to undergo a medical examination for doctors to assess her claims.

Featured image via Facebook and Instagram