Pregnant ‘smuggler' Bella Culley faces raising her child in grim ex-Soviet prison after making shock ‘love' confession

The Sun

16-05-2025

PREGNANT drugs charge teenager Bella Culley could be forced to bring up her love child behind bars in a grim ex-Soviet prison, it was revealed.
Bella, 18, has now confided that she was 'in love' with a mystery man suspected of hooking her up with drug traffickers in the Far East.
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And experts told The Sun last night of fears for her unborn child which could spend the first three years of its life in a prison nursery.
The bubbly British backpacker is in custody following her arrest in Georgia's Tbilisi airport with a suitcase of cannabis after going missing 4,000 miles away in Thailand.
Her family and police are desperate to trace a boyfriend called 'Russ or Ross' who she met in the Philippines amid suggestions he may be the father of her child.
Student nurse Bella from Billingham, County Durham went on to hook up with a suspected drug gang from the north west of England in the Thai resort of Phuket.
And she is now facing a sentence ranging from 15 years to life in jail in Georgia for importing £200,000 worth of drugs as her distraught family remained baffled by her plight.
Eliso Rukhadze, Georgian women's rights defender and lawyer told The Sun yesterday: 'Bella will be transferred to a hospital to have the baby and then rushed back to prison.
'Over the last few years, a large amount of funds have been allocated to make the space as comfortable as possible.
'Equipment is modern. There is a kindergarten and nursery too to create the best possible conditions for the child in the prison.
'For up to three years, the child would grow up there and the mom would have unrestricted access to the child - including breastfeeding.
'They would have to be cared for by a family member.
Brit teen escorted to court in handcuffs after being arrested for 'smuggling marijuana'
"The nationality will add complications. If the child is Georgian, and the family is British, they will have to take extra steps to be given wardship of the child.
'It won't be put up for adoption. The child will only be given to members of the family, but it adds an extra layer of bureaucracy.'
Bella's father Niel, 49, (ckd) and her aunt Kerrie Culley were yesterday still waiting for permission to see her at No 5 Women's Penitentiary on the outskirts of capital Tbilisis.
Offshore oil rig electrician Niel, who lives in Vietnam, faces an agonising wait - possibly till Wednesday - for a heart-to-heart talk with his daughter owing to jail red tape.
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Bella's pregnancy has yet to be confirmed by medical checks - but Neil appeared distressed yesterday as he faced the possibility of his first grandchild being born in prison.
Puffing shakily on a cigarette, the dad told The Sun: 'I'm sorry - I don't want to say anything.'
The teenager has not yet told her Georgian lawyer how she came to be carrying 31lb of cannabis and hashish in a single hold bag.
She was arrested within minutes of her arrival on a £550 Air Arabia flight via Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Tbilisi last Saturday following a suspected tip-off.
Bella confided to a source close to the case that "love" was the reason she flew out to the Far East.
The source said yesterday: 'She said she was in love and that love was the reason she flew out to the Far East.
'But she has said nothing about why she had the drugs.'
Bella's grandad William Culley, 80, revealed she appears to have spent most of March in Thailand but also spent time in the Philippines with a man called 'Ross or Russ.'.
Video clips and snaps show the student holding onto a man as she rides pillion on a scooter and another shows her smoking a cannabis spliff.
Another on TikTok shows her joking about 'Bonnie and Clyde' crime hijinks and is captioned: 'Don't care if we on the run baby as long as I'm next to u.'
But Bella's male companion's face never appears in the posts and he is never tagged - and only his silhouette is seen.
It was unclear last night whether the mystery lover is the father of her child - whose birth looks certain to trigger uncertainty and heartache for her family.
The baby will become a citizen of Georgia at birth - and the nation does not allow its citizens to hold dual nationality.
Dad Niel and Bella's mother Lyanne, whom live in County Durham, are estranged - which could present further problems if either makes efforts to adopt the child.
A source said: 'The prison has childcare facilities but it's clearly not the best place to bring up a child.
'The complications all add to the awful dilemma facing the family.'
A 2018 report highlighting concerns about Georgian prisons warned that separating mothers from babies was 'very stressful for both.'
It added: 'They require specialised psychological support and adaptation periods that may require weekend release from prison.'
Bella's father and aunt did not appear to have been allowed inside the women's prison as daily visiting times ended at 6pm local time last night.
Her lawyer said yesterday that it could take up to five working days for them to be allowed in from the day she submitted a formal visit request on Thursday.
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