‘Drug mule' Charlotte May Lee's lawyer fears Brit will be in jail for MONTHS before any chance of bail over £1.2m haul
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ACCUSED drug smuggler Charlotte May Lee could be left to languish in a hellhole months before being given bail, her lawyer said.
The Brit, 21, was arrested last month after Sri Lankan authorities allegedly found a stash of cannabis worth £1.2 million in her suitcases.
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Charlotte May Lee, 21, was arrested in May
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
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Sri Lankan cops released a photo of the seized bags of drugs Charlotte was allegedly caught with
Credit: Sri Lanka Police
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Former flight attendant Charlotte, from south London, has yet to be charged but is still holed up at a jail in Negombo on the west coast.
At a court hearing on Friday, her lawyer Sampath Parera said no progress has been made in releasing part-time beautician Charlotte on bail.
He told The Sun: "It is taking time because it is the highest amount of cannabis seized at the airport and I am speculating that investigating agencies are taking time to investigate.
Charlotte has now appeared in court three times since her arrest on May 12 after cops found two suitcases stuffed with 46kg of synthetic drug Kush as she landed at Bandaranaike airport from Bangkok.
Senior counsel Mr Parera said her bail is likely going to take time as the drugs seized at the airport are yet to be examined
He has demanded the examination of the alleged drug by the relevant government authorities to determine whether the materials were in fact an illegal substance.
The lawyer added: "I made an application on the very first day when she was produced at the court to produce those alleged cannabis to the government analysis department, or the authorities to get a report.
"It's pending, so they have to come up with the report. We still don't know the exact weight of this and we still don't know that actually there is cannabis.
"It has to be confirmed by a report or the expert analysis otherwise, you can't just say that there is cannabis without testing.
"We are just waiting for reports and documents... it will take about one month, or one and a half months."
Brit 'drug mule' Charlotte May Lee pictured in new mugshot along with huge £1.2m drug haul
'This is not a single case in Sri Lanka. There are lots of cases where all the drugs are being produced to the government department to get reports so there would be a small delay with regard to the report."
Mr Parera has claimed that the drugs were planted on Charlotte, who was seen tearing up in court last month.
She had earlier complained of discomfort given the "alien environment--different food and language" but Mr Parera said that she has been 'showing remarkable composure'.
He added: "Charlotte is coping as best as she can under the circumstances.
"Being in custody in a foreign country is undoubtedly difficult, but she has shown remarkable composure. She has accommodated that situation and she talks, she laughs.
"She is receiving food and basic facilities as per local standards.
"While the environment is naturally different from what she's used to, there are no immediate concerns regarding her treatment.
" We are in regular contact with the authorities to ensure her wellbeing is safeguarded."
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Charlotte faces a long stay behind bars before she is sentenced
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
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The former flight attendant being led into court last month
Credit: BBC Breakfast
The island nation in the Indian Ocean has one of the strictest anti-drug laws that criminalises not only trafficking but even small possession of drugs.
It has long been considered a transit point for international drug smugglers to be reshipped onward.
Drug trafficking can land those convicted with a life imprisonment sentence - or even the death penalty in Sri Lanka, although no executions have been carried out since 1976.
More than 162,000 people were arrested in 2023 for possession of methamphetamine, according to the country's National Dangerous Drugs Control Board.
At least a dozen foreign nationals are in jail over charges of drug possession or drug trafficking.
Nine Iranians were given life imprisonment in a drug smuggling case in 2023.
Mr Parera said that Charlotte's case became different due to the size of the drug haul.
Kush is a potent strain of marijuana cut with synthetic and dangerous additives including acetone, formalin, and tramadol. It was first seen in Sierra Leone in 2022.
If found guilty, She could result in her serving a 20 to 25-year sentence in Sri Lanka's maximum-security Welikada Prison.
Mr Parera added: "There are other foreigners in the prison custody. Some have brought 13 kilos, others have brought various quantities of the same drug.
Other Brit 'smuggler' Bella
by Nick Parker, Foreign Editor
VULNERABLE drug charge teen Bella Culley is "not far from childhood", her new lawyer said after visiting her in a grim Georgian jail.
Bella's family-appointed lawyer Malkhaz Salakaia, said the 18-year-old Brit did not even know where she was and had to have her location explained to her.
Mr Salakaia said Bella was in "good health" but he would not describe her as an adult, adding that she was "not far from childhood."
Bella was arrested on May 11 in capital Tbilisi's airport with a suitcase packed with 31lb of cannabis and hashish after flying from Thailand via Sharjah in the UAE.
She faces 15 years to life in jail in the eastern European former Soviet state.
She is being held in watchtower-ringed Penitentiary No 5 near Tbilisi while prosecutors probe how she came to have the £200,000 stash and who she planned to hand it to.
The teenager had been away in the Far East for weeks and boasted of a 'Bonnie and Clyde' lifestyle and posted pictures with wads of cash and smoking spliffs.
Her family have now dropped local legal aid lawyer Ia Todua in favour of Mr Salakaia who does not speak English and is understood to have been recommended by British Embassy staff.
He specialises in juvenile law and is expected to argue that vulnerable Bella - who announced she is pregnant in court - is a victim who was manipulated by ruthless traffickers.
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"This case is having extra attention from all over the world media and in the media in Sri Lanka because it is considered to be the biggest amount of cannabis which was brought to Sri Lanka and arrested in the airport."
He insisted that Charlotte was innocent and he was trying to get her justice.
'A person is presumed to be innocent until he or she is proven guilty," Mr Parera said.
"She is just a suspect at the moment. She needs to get justice. We are assisting her to get justice, and we are assisting the court too. I'm doing my level best for my client.
'She's denying the charges. She doesn't know what happened there. She remains hopeful that the truth will emerge and that justice will be served in due course.'
Comparisons have been drawn between Charlotte's case and Bella Culley's.
Bella, 18, lost contact with her family on a solo trip in Thailand before reappearing at Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia just a day before Charlotte's arrest.
She is also being detained under smuggling charges.
Although the two have never met, both young women were in Bangkok's airport alone before their arrests, and both were allegedly found with large quantities of cannabis in their bags.
She was found with 13kg of marijuana. Both women also reportedly told friends and family back home that they were meeting a man in Thailand.
Mr Parera added: "While there have been media reports of foreign nationals — including Britons — being caught up in drug-related cases, we strongly believe each case must be approached independently and with factual clarity.
"It would not be fair to cast broad assumptions about the local legal system. Our focus remains on ensuring a fair and transparent process for Charlotte."
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Daily Mirror
13 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'Feral' Brit filmed attempting to provoke fellow passenger on busy Jet2 flight
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