A British teenager who disappeared while travelling in Thailand has been arrested 4,000 miles away in Georgia, accused of smuggling dozens of bags of cannabis into the country.
Bella May Culley, 18, from Billingham, County Durham, was filmed by local media walking into a court in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in handcuffs. She had not been heard from since last Saturday, when she failed to check in with her mother, Lyanne Kennedy, as planned.
The teenager’s father and aunt had flown out to Bangkok over the weekend to find out more about Ms Culley’s whereabouts, only to discover on Tuesday that she was in Georgia. Her father, Neil Culley, is reportedly now redirecting to Tbilisi.
The Georgian interior ministry says the teenager is facing life imprisonment, which is 20 years.
A statement read: “B.K, born in 2006, is charged with illegally purchasing and storing a particularly large amount of narcotics, illegally purchasing and storing the narcotic drug marijuana, and illegally importing it into Georgia. The committed crime envisions up to 20 years – or life imprisonment.”
Local media said the teenager was arrested at Tbilisi airport in possession of “34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana … as well as 20 packages of hashish”.
A British Foreign Office spokesperson confirmed that Ms Culley had been detained in Georgia and that they were supporting the teenager’s family. Cleveland police also confirmed Ms Culley had been detained in Georgia.
Ms Kennedy told Teesside Live that her daughter flew to the Philippines after Easter with a friend and was there for three weeks.
“She was posting loads of pictures,” Ms Kennedy said.
The teenager had travelled to the tropical islands of Palawan and Panay, having recently finished a course at Middlesbrough College in the hopes of becoming a nurse.
On 16 April, she posted a video on TikTok appearing to show her in the Philippines, alongside the caption: “Needed a hug but instead made the biggest decision of my life and found peace in another country’s culture and way of life.”
On 3 May, Ms Culley travelled to Thailand, where she remained until disappearing last Saturday.
The 18-year-old had posted videos and images from both of her trips, which included snorkelling, visiting caves and seeing turtles. Her last posts were on 9 May, a day before she was reported missing.
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