Bella May Culley 'visibly shaken' after being told she could face life in jail
Bella May Culley, 18, was allegedly caught with cannabis at an airport in Georgia - and her lawyer says she was 'visibly shaken' when told she could face a lifetime jail sentence
A suspected British teen drug smuggler detained in Georgia was 'visibly shaken' when told the consequences of her alleged actions, a lawyer revealed. Bella May Culley, 18, faces a lifetime jail sentence after allegedly being caught with cannabis flying into the former Soviet state's capital Tbilisi.
The teenager had vanished in Thailand before turning up in Eastern Europe where she was on TV handcuffed to an official – telling a court she's pregnant. Now her lawyer, Ia Todua has disclosed: 'When I explained to her that what she was accused of was an especially severe crime then she was concerned and visibly shaken.'
Asked whether she thought Bella May realised the full extent of her alleged actions, her lawyer said: 'My impression was that she ended up in Georgia without even knowing what she was doing.' She added: 'She looked like she didn't expect it to have such severe consequences.'
Bella May, from Billingham, County Durham, is accused of carrying about 12kg of cannabis and around 2kg of hashish into the country.
The Brit faces a lengthy spell behind bars if found guilty — which could be life in the worst-case scenario.
On Wednesday, Bella May's dad, Niel [cor] and aunt Kerrie held a meeting with the same lawyer at an office in Tbilisi.
Niel faces an agonising wait to have an emotional reunion with his daughter.
Bella May has written to prison authorities requesting permission for a visit from her family.
The process can take up to five working days – but there is a chance she could see them as soon as tomorrow.
It came as it emerged Bella May had earlier told her grandad she was travelling to the Philippines to see a lad.
Back in the UK, grandad William Culley, 80, said today: "Last night they were told they could see her in the morning.
'They said they'd ring me straight after they had seen her but I haven't had a call. They must still be waiting.
"It's just really important that they get to see her as soon as possible. The poor bairn must be at her wits' end. Especially if we can't see her. Everything should be done to make that happen."
Mr Culley said that Bella had travelled to the Philippines with plans to meet a male who had moved to the country from the North East.
"She went to the Philippines to see somebody, a lad there, who she used to go out with a couple of years ago, who was working out there,' he said.
"She said, 'I'm going on my own, but I'm meeting Ross out there. Or Russ, I'm not sure what his name is. He was working out there for his father's company or something. But now I wonder if what she told me was true."
Bella's father Niel lives in Vietnam but retains a property in Billingham, Co Durham.
Mr Culley said he had been instructed by his son to market the house to raise money towards legal help for his daughter, who recently started doing bank shifts as a nurse.
He said he was "surprised" when lawyers for Bella revealed she is pregnant. "I only found out when my daughter told me last night."
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