Teen ‘smuggler' Bella Culley's dad vows to stand by his daughter – amid fears drug gangs are targeting Brit backpackers

The Sun

18-05-2025

THE distraught father of drugs charge teenager Bella Culley has vowed to stand by his daughter - amid new fears Far East drugs gangs are targeting British backpackers.
Bella, 18, is on remand in a grim jail following her arrest in Georgia's Tbilisi airport with a suitcase of cannabis after going missing 4,000 miles away in Thailand.
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Bella's flight took off from the same Bangkok airport within hours of another pretty British trafficking suspect arrested with £1.2 million of a cannabis-related drug in Sri Lanka.
Former air stewardess Charlotte May Lee, 21, was in a gruesome Sri Lankan jail cell last night awaiting a court appearance.
Their arrests have sparked fears that Thai gangs may be hoodwinking vulnerable British backpackers into ferrying their drugs after a crackdown on postal trafficking.
Bella was facing at least nine months on remand in a grim Soviet-era jail alongside hardened criminals.
She had joked online of 'Bonnie and Clyde' hijinks while showing off cash wads in the Far East and was pictured smoking a spliff..
Bella's family from Billingham, County Durham are convinced she was preyed upon after flying to the Far East to party with a mystery man feared to have hooked her up with drugs runners.
Her dad Niel - a Vietnam-based oil rig electrician - flew to Tbilisi last week desperate for answers after tearful Bella told a court that she was pregnant.
But he has yet to meet his daughter within the drab confines of No5 Women's Penitentiary on the outskirts of the Georgian capital and remains baffled by her plight.
Asked about his plans after arriving in Tbilisi, Mr Culley, 49, told The Sun today: 'I can't say anything but I will be here for as long as it takes.
'I obviously have no experience in dealing with situations like this and it's very difficult.'
Pregnant 'smuggler' Bella Culley faces raising her child in grim ex-Soviet prison
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Appearing shaky as he puffed on a cigarette, the anxious dad at one point appeared ready to make a statement when asked how his daughter was bearing up in prison.
But he broke off to confer with Bella's aunt Kerrie Culley - who is supporting him in Georgia - and returned shaking his head.
He added: 'I'm being advised by the British Embassy and can't comment at the moment.
'But that may change in the future depending on what happens.'
Fears are growing that a Thai drugs gang is preying on British backpackers this summer as Charlotte became the second Brit flying out of Bangkok to be arrested within days.
She was detained at Colombo airport in Sri Lanka on Monday - the day after Bella's arrest - where police say she had a huge stash of kush - a synthetic strain of cannabis.
Charlotte from Chipstead, Surrey was last night locked in a cell with 20 other prisoners with barely room to lie down as she awaited a court hearing.
Bella took off first from Bangkok on a 20-hour flight via Sharjah in the UAE to Georgia while Charlotte left later on a three-hour direct flight to Sri Lanka.
Both girls departed from the Thai capital during the Royal Ploughing Ceremony weekend - one of the busiest festivals of the year when airports are crammed with tourists.
It is believed to have provided a prime opportunity for traffickers to operate mules - particularly attractive young Britons who arouse less suspicion.
The two arrests follow a huge crackdown on smugglers sending cannabis to the UK by post.
A joint operation by both countries has seen a 90 per cent in reduction in the drug being mailed to Britain since last year.
It suggests Thai gangs may now be reverting to using drug mules to ship their products instead - and targeting British backpackers.
Thailand decriminalised cannabis in 2022 which sparked a massive rise in the narcotic being posted to Britain.
The law change allowed traffickers to hoodwink trippers into believing transporting it was legal.
Thai checks of mail being shipped stopped 1.5 tonnes in the first quarter of this year - a 90 percent drop in the illicit cargo - in a drive which frustrated the gangs.
Some 800 people including 50 British nationals have been arrested in Thailand for attempted smuggling since July 2024 with over nine tonnes of cannabis seized.
Retired Georgian police chief General Jemal Janashia voiced concerns that backpackers were being targeted yesterday.
He said: "The fact that two young British women have taken off with large quantities of drugs from the same airport will interest investigators.
"They will be concerned about the possibility of a link and that Thai gangs may be attempting to recruit vulnerable British travellers.
'After the crackdown on postal drug deliveries, the Thai cartel are seeking new routes and Georgia does look like an attractive middle transit point.
'It's relatively close, and easy to reach Europe and is visa free to European travellers.'
He added: 'I feel sorry for this woman because she was clearly used and manipulated. She's 18, she's a foreigner, pregnant.
'All of this indicates that she was chosen deliberately, chosen carefully, she was studied.
'Whoever chose her, they knew what they were doing.'
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