Pregnant Brit ‘mule' Bella Culley's drug trial in Georgia POSTPONED over ‘evidence issue' as dad tells her ‘stay strong'
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PREGNANT Brit "mule" Bella Culley's drug trial in Georgia has been postponed over "evidence issue".
Bella from Billingham, County Durham, appeared at Tbilisi City Court for a brief hearing after she previously denied charges of possession and trafficking marijuana and the narcotic hashish.
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On Bella's first court appearance she announced she was pregnant
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Thai police have now released CCTV footage of the Brit going through the automated gates at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand
Credit: Asia Pacific Press via ViralPress
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Cops said cannabis was found wrapped in air-tight bags in Bella's luggage
Credit: Unpixs
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Bella Culley seen in court at the beginning of July as her devastated family watched on
Credit: Supplied
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The court heard there were issues surrounding evidence that must be resolved.
Bella's heartbroken dad, who was present in court, told her to "stay strong".
Her next hearing is scheduled for 24 July.
Bella claimed baggage containing the cannabis was carried to the airport for her and put in the plane's hold when she boarded a flight from Bangkok in May.
Her family launched a missing person hunt in Thailand after she vanished on holiday but she turned up under arrest 4,000 miles away in the European nation.
Then on her first court appearance she announced she was pregnant.
CCTV footage of Bella was released, which cops say rubbishes her claim she was coerced into transporting the £200,000 drug stash.
Police Major General Cherngron Rimphadee said a few weeks ago: 'This matter is not complicated.
'Police have reviewed CCTV footage and confirmed that she used a British passport to exit through the automatic passport control channel.
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Police confirmed she she used a British passport to exit Thailand
Credit: Asia Pacific Press via ViralPress
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The Brit told a court she was tortured into trafficking £200,000-worth of cannabis by evil crimelords
Credit: Facebook
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She was caught at Tblisi International Airport with 30 pounds of marijuana and hashish in her luggage on May 10
Credit: Prime Time
'As a result, she did not interact with or speak to any immigration officers and simply exited the country.'
Thai authorities say Bella's claims of seeking help from customs staff are "absolutely baseless".
Surveillance shows the teen, from Billingham, Teesside, apparently passing calmly through Suvarnabhumi Airport's automated gates without raising any red flags.
'There is no evidence whatsoever that any immigration or police officers forced or threatened the suspect to smuggle drugs out of the country,' Lt. Gen. Choengron said.
'It was a deliberate departure.'
The footage had reportedly been shared with media outlets in an attempt to debunk Bella's courtroom testimony in Tblisi, where she claimed she "didn't want to do this" and was allegedly forced under torture.
Bella's lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, claimed corrupt Thai police officers were in on the trafficking ring and that when Bella turned to one for help, she realised he was part of the gang.
Salakaia alleged she and her family were threatened with beheading if she didn't comply.
He went on to claim that "They told her: we know the addresses of your parents, we know where your 16-year-old brother is", before showing her a video of a person being beheaded.
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Cannabis was found wrapped in air-tight bags in Bella's luggage, police said
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Bella May Culley claims she was coerced into transporting £200k worth of cannabis
Credit: NCJ Media
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Bella has said she never touched the drugs found in her suitcase
Credit: Facebook
The court was also shown a scar on her arm which Salakaia said was inflicted before the suitcase containing the drugs - which she allegedly never touched - was given to her.
But Thai police say it's all an attempt to wriggle out of punishment.
Officials believe the teen's high-stakes tale is part of a strategy to secure a lighter sentence in Georgia.
The Georgian prosecution has charged her with "illegally purchasing and storing a particularly large amount of narcotics" and "illegally importing them into the country".
Bella currently faces up to 20 years or even life behind bars if convicted.
The teen, who now claims she is 18 weeks pregnant, was previously seen online bragging about "getting up to criminal activities" and flashing thick wads of cash.
Thai cops said she would now be blacklisted for entering the country "to commit a drug offence", citing a breach of Section 12 of the Immigration Act.
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