Teenage Drug Mule Returns Home After Prison Ordeal
Nineteen-year-old Bella Culley has finally returned to her family home in Billingham on Teesside after enduring six months in a Georgian prison. The pregnant teenager touched down at Luton Airport in the early hours of Wednesday, accompanied by her devoted mother Lyanne Kennedy.
Bella, who is eight months pregnant, had been detained in Georgia since May after being caught attempting to smuggle drugs into the country. Her release came after her parents negotiated a plea bargain with prosecutors, securing her immediate freedom instead of serving a full two-year sentence.
Emotional Homecoming After Months of Uncertainty
The family home in Billingham was prepared for an emotional reunion, with balloons decorating the interior and a long line of cars parked outside as relatives gathered to welcome Bella back. Neighbours reported constant comings and goings throughout the day as family members arrived to celebrate her return.
"She had never been in any trouble before so what a shock this has been for her family," one neighbour revealed. "Hard to imagine what they have been through."
After her arrival, Bella expressed that she couldn't wait to get "into her own bed" and enjoyed a well-deserved lie-in before receiving visitors. Her brother Billy, 16, along with other family members, had been waiting patiently for her return, though her father Neil, 49, remains in Vietnam.
Family's Desperate Fight for Freedom
The ordeal began when Bella was arrested attempting to bring 12kg of marijuana and 2kg of hashish into Georgia. She told the court she had been tortured and forced to carry the drugs, though specific details about these allegations haven't been disclosed.
Her parents launched a desperate campaign to secure her release, with mother Lyanne, 44, and father Neil raising nearly £140,000 to pay the court as part of the plea agreement. Lyanne had previously expressed her terror at potentially missing the birth of her first grandchild if Bella had been forced to serve her full sentence.
During her imprisonment, Bella was moved to a mother and baby unit after experiencing a difficult initial period in the general prison population. The teenager had been on holiday in southeast Asia when she became pregnant, with her baby boy due next month.
Looking toward the future, it's understood that Bella hopes to return to her nursing studies after giving birth, attempting to rebuild her life following the traumatic experience that saw her imprisoned thousands of miles from home.
