A British teenager's backpacking trip has taken a turn for the worst after she was arrested in Georgia.
Bella Culley from Billingham, UK, was travelling around Thailand when her family reported her missing on Tuesday (May 13) after not having heard from her for a few days. Culley had been in the Philippines last month before arriving in Thailand on May 3.
Then, in an unexpected turn of events, Culley's family learned that the 18-year-old had been arrested in Georgia over 4,000 miles away from her last known location in Thailand.
The teenager was taken into custody at Tbilisi International Airport. She reportedly had 12kg (26lbs) of marijuana and 2kg (4.4lbs) of hashish on her at the time, says BBC News, and has since been charged by Georgian police with illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics.
Who is Bella May Culley?
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Culley is an 18-year-old student from County Durham, UK, who reportedly had hopes of studying nursing when she returned home from her travels, The Independent reports.
Her mother told Teesside Live that she had travelled to the Philippines with a friend before going to Thailand, while her friend went to Ibiza instead.
The teen is also reportedly pregnant and said so at the recent hearing of hers in Georgia, as per her state-appointed lawyer, Ia Todua.
Her lawyer continued in a statement: "This was her first time in court, and she was terrified and confused, kind of lost. Because of that, we decided to exercise the right to remain silent. In a few days, after we've had consultations and discussions, we'll decide whether and how to adjust this position.
"New lawyers, private ones, both Georgian and British, will soon be involved and more details will be told."
What's next for Bella May Culley?
Apparently prosecutors have said that they need two months to gather evidence on Culley and the crimes she's been accused of before the case is brought to trial.
Todua said: "They said that they had to conduct a lot of investigative activities, so that they can collect evidence, establish where it was from [the narcotics] and was she planning to hand it over to someone.
"That's what they said they want to establish, and they also confiscated her phone."
If found guilty, Culley could land herself life behind bars (20 years). She would be housed in Georgia's only women’s prison, Prison No.5.
She is being preliminarily detained until July 1 while investigations are ongoing.
What have officials said?
As per The Independent, The Georgian interior ministry said in a statement: "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."
The British Foreign Office isn't believed to have said much on the case other than that it is 'supporting the family of a British woman who is detained in Georgia'.
Culley's parents, Neil and Kerry Culley, arrived in Georgia on Wednesday (May 14), Mail Online reports, but they have been unable to see their daughter because of paperwork problems.
Niamh Shackleton