An 18-year-old British woman, Bella May Culley, who was reported missing while on holiday in Thailand, has been arrested in Georgia on suspicion of smuggling a large quantity of cannabis. Culley was apprehended at Tbilisi International Airport after allegedly attempting to bring 30 pounds of cannabis into the country.
Local media report that Culley was found with 34 hermetically sealed packages of marijuana and 20 packages of hashish. She now faces up to 20 years or more in Tbilisi Prison No. 5, the country's only female prison, which has been described as decaying and severely overcrowded.
Culley, from Billingham, County Durham, had been the subject of an international search after her family lost contact with her during a trip to Thailand that began around May 3. Her father, Neil, had flown to Bangkok to assist in the search.
Cleveland Police confirmed the arrest, stating that the authorities in Georgia have an 18-year-old woman from Billingham in custody on suspicion of drugs offences. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been contacted for comment, but notes that it cannot secure special treatment for British nationals arrested abroad.
Human Rights Watch and other organisations have previously criticised conditions at Tbilisi Prison No. 5, describing them as degrading and inhuman. The arrest has jeopardised Culley's reported aspirations to become a nurse, as she had recently completed a college course aimed at entering the profession.
