Dad of Brit teen arrested 4,000 miles from where she went missing speaks out on ordeal

The father of the British teenager who was arrested 4,000 miles from where she was first said to have gone missing has spoken out for the first time.

Bella May Culley, an 18-year-old from County Durham, was travelling around Southeast Asia and was first reported missing by her mother after they received one final message from her, before not hearing from her for four days.

Despite believing their daughter was in Thailand, it soon transpired that Bella had actually been arrested for drug offences in Georgia, which is 4,000 miles from the Asian country.

It is reported that Bella was found with '34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana’ in her bag ‘as well as 20 packages of hashish’, a crime which can carry sentences between 20 years and life in the Eastern European country.

While the girl's lawyers and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) are both supporting her in Georgia, she still hasn't been allowed to see her family, and it will perhaps be difficult for the teenager to provide an explanation as to why so many drugs were found in her suitcase.

Bella May Culley was arrested after a large amount of drugs were discovered in her suitcase in Georgia (Georgia Police)

Her father Niel Culley and his sister quickly flew out to the country's capital Tbilisi after hearing the news, and while it seems they haven't been able to see Bella yet, her father has issued a comment to the Daily Mail.

Niel, who lives in Vietnam, said: "I can't say anything but I will be here for as long as it takes. I obviously have no experience in dealing with situations like this and it’s very difficult."

The officer who discovered her suspicious bags has also spoken out about how the teen’s belongings at Tbilisi International Airport instantly drew attention.

Zurab Tatunashvili said: "I was inspecting luggage using an X-ray scanner.

“One of the bags appeared suspicious based on its contents, so I marked it with a customs sticker, which indicates that it must undergo a physical inspection in the presence of the passenger in a specially designated room.”

The British teenager remains in custody in Tbilisi (TikTok/@bellamayculleyx)

There was another twist to the tale when the teenager claimed that she was pregnant while speaking in court, with Georgian TV outlet Rustavi 2 reporting that she ‘chose to exercise her right to remain silent regarding the charges’.

The teen’s lawyer had sought to release her on bail, and the judge remanded the Brit in custody.

It currently remains unknown why Bella travelled from Thailand to Georgia.

Bella isn't the only Brit to find herself in trouble abroad, as a dad from Derbyshire recently saw himself sentenced to 40 years in Dubai jail after being found in possession of cocaine.