A teenager who vanished while vacationing in Thailand has reappeared thousands of miles away from her original destination, claiming she is pregnant in the former Soviet Union while being held on charges of dr–g smuggling.
18 year-old Bella May Culley, a nursing student from the United Kingdom, shares snippets of her luxurious lifestyle on social media and doing activities most in her field of study would have no time for — such as scuba diving or partying on tropical islands in the Philippines.
Highlights
- Bella May Culley, an 18-year-old UK nursing student, vanished in Thailand and has reappeared, detained in Georgia on dr*g smuggling charges.
- She was caught at Tbilisi airport with 30 pounds of cannabis, including marijuana and hashish, and claimed to be pregnant during her court hearing.
- Bella’s disappearance led to an international search, with her family saying she was last heard on May 3.
Now, she is appearing in court in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, after allegedly being caught carrying 30 pounds of cannabis at the international airport, as reported by Daily Mail, with 34 packs of marijuana and 20 packs of hashish.
A nursing student who disappeared in Thailand was allegedly caught smuggling cannabis and claims she is pregnant
Image credits: Bella May Culley
As stated by her lawyer, the teenager told the court she was pregnant on Tuesday, May 13, in a hearing and is currently being preliminarily detained for two months while investigations continue.
Her disappearance last week triggered a mass international search operation, sparking concern from both authorities and her loved ones.
Culley’s family said they had last heard from her on May 3.
Image credits: Bella May Culley
“She flew out to the Philippines after Easter with a friend and she was there for three weeks. She was posting loads of pictures and then she went to Thailand on about May 3,” her mother, Lyanne Culley, said to Teesside Live.
She continued, “The last message she sent was to me and that was on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. saying she was going to Facetime me later. That was the last message anyone has received from what we can figure out up to now.”
The last time Culley's family heard from her was on May 3
Image credits: iTV
Image credits: iTV
Her father and sister subsequently hopped on a plane to fly to Thailand, in hopes of finding her.
The mother also explained to The Sun that she “really didn’t” want her daughter going to Thailand alone.
“I begged her to come home. I don’t trust some of the boys over there,” she said. “But she wanted to meet up with some friends she made over there on a previous trip. I don’t know who any of them are.
Image credits: Human Rights Watch
“When she stopped answering messages, I assumed it was because she was flying back to surprise me. But then nothing.”
Culley has now been found, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s safe.
The teenager, who is originally from County Durham, northeast England, is now being held in an ex-Soviet jail.
Culley's mother had been against the idea of her 18-year-old going to Thailand
Image credits: Marayca Lopez i Ferrer
Tbilisi Prison No. 5 is Georgia’s only female prison and has been described by a Human Rights Watch report in 2006 as “severely overcrowded,” with inmates suffering conditions that were “degrading,” “inhuman,” and “an affront to a civilized society.”
On top of that, their bathrooms were “decaying and filthy” while the cells within reeked “strongly of human sweat, human excrement, and cigarette smoke,” according to the same report.
Culley’s lawyer says the nursing student is currently “terrified and confused.”
If she is found guilty, she could face up to 15 to 20 years in prison, as legal expert Jemal Janashia told Daily Mail.
Image credits: Bella May Culley
“The fact that she was detained by CrimPol’s Special Tasks Department suggests this wasn’t a random search, but a planned operation. And the quantity of drugs found on her makes it hard to remain optimistic,” he explained.
“It’s a grim situation — people have been sentenced to eight years or more for possessing 20 times less in the past decade. Dr–g offenses are one of the key priorities for the Georgian police.”
Her father, Neil Culley, traveled out of his family’s home to be with his daughter, her lawyer told the outlet.
Image credits: Bella May Culley
She has not answered the judge’s questions about the allegations surrounding her nor has she entered a plea.
According to the local press, her lawyer stated, “My client is currently exercising the right to remain silent, so we will provide detailed information later, once they decide how to proceed.”
Comments were divided between sympathizing for the student and blaming her for smuggling substances
