The British teen who went missing in Thailand before being arrested roughly 4,000 miles away has claimed she is pregnant.
Bella May Culley’s family said they hadn’t heard from the 18-year-old since Saturday (10 May) but an update yesterday afternoon revealed she had been detained on drug smuggling charges in Georgia.
The teen from Billingham, County Durham, had flown out to the Philippines just after Easter and is believed to have travelled to Thailand around 3 May.
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Her mum told Teeside Live that she had posted pictures on social media and had been in regular contact with her family. However, they’ve had no word from her since she promised to Facetime on Saturday evening and it’s thought her phone was switched off.
Cleveland Police confirmed Bella had been arrested on suspicion of drugs offences in Eastern Europe.
She could face life imprisonment if found guilty as it is alleged that she was found with ’34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana’ in her bag ‘as well as 20 packages of hashish’.
Bella appeared in a Tiblisi court where she reportedly claimed she is ‘pregnant’, with Georgian TV outlet Rustavi 2 reporting that she ‘chose to exercise her right to remain silent regarding the charges’.
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The teen’s lawyer had sought tor release her on bail and the judge remanded the Brit in custody.
Her Georgian lawyer told reporters today (via MailOnline): “My client is currently exercising the right to remain silent, so we will provide detailed information later, once they decide how to proceed.
"A formal request must be submitted to the relevant authority, and then more detailed information regarding my client can be provided. At this stage, [she is] invoking [her] right to silence, and further developments will be shared later once a decision is made."
It is unclear how or why Bella travelled from Thailand to Georgia.
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With her family worried she had vanished, her dad and aunt had flown to Bangkok to seek answers. It’s said her dad is now travelling over to Eastern Europe.
Before police shared that she had been detained, Bella’s mum, Lyanne Kennedy told Teeside Live yesterday morning: “She was posting loads of pictures and then she went to Thailand on about May 3.
"The last message she sent was to me and that was on Saturday at 5.30pm 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.”
Kennedy added that she just wanted ‘her home and safe or to hear her gorgeous little voice'.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) told LADbible Group: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who is detained in Georgia and are in contact with the local authorities.”
Jess Battison