Latest news with #cannabissmuggling
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Headlines: Trams and ex-footballer jailed for drug smuggling
Here's our weekly round up of stories from across local websites in the West of have a daily round up as well. Make sure you look out for it on the website and the local section of the BBC News app. What have been the big stories in the West this week? Former Bristol City footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a £600,000 cannabis smuggling Live said the 34-year-old was arrested after authorities intercepted 60 kilograms of cannabis at Stansted Airport, concealed in suitcases arriving from Thailand. Emmanuel-Thomas had recruited two women, including his girlfriend, to transport the drugs. While the women were cleared of charges due to lack of evidence, Emmanuel-Thomas pleaded guilty to the Swindon Advertiser published an interview with Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson, who has supported calls to make cannabis a class A drug, which would bring it into line with drugs like heroin and crack Stroud News and Journal reported on an equine therapy centre in Stroud that is looking for a new home as its current one is up for Bristol finally get a tram system? The current Metro Mayor Helen Godwin believes so. Bristol Live reported on a new government investment into the West of England's transport system earlier this club chairman stepped down this week after an incredible 39 years at the helm. The club said it believed he was one of the longest serving chairmen in English if you're feeling flush with money, Somerset Live has reported on the luxury Glastonbury accommodation which will set you back £28,000 - though it comes with its own helicopter landing pad. Top five local stories for the BBC in the West Something longer to read Bristol historian Eugene Byrne has written an article for the Bristol Cable, exploring the Bristolians who profited from the Confederate States of America during the Civil Union soldiers blockaded American ports, the Confederates sent agents to the UK to purchase muskets and other weapons, and Bristolian ships were used as 'blockade runners' to try and evade patrolling warships. Explore more with our daily roundups
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Revealed: 'Bonnie and Clyde' TikTok boasts of Brit student who vanished in Thailand...before ending up in court 4,000 miles away on drugs charges
A British student likened herself to Bonnie and Clyde and shared videos of drugs and cash in a series on social media posts before she was arrested on drug charges in an ex-Soviet state. Bella May Culley, 18, could face 20 years or even life imprisonment for allegedly smuggling cannabis into Georgia. She was arrested for drug offences, 3,000 miles away from her home in Billingham, County Durham. She appeared in court today where a judge remanded her in custody. Culley had allegedly being caught carrying 30 pounds (14kg) of cannabis into the ex-Soviet nation after she was flagged during a scanner check at Tbilisi International Airport. Before her arrest, she had been reported missing while on holiday in Thailand. The nursing student had been posting on social media regularly, but was last heard from on Saturday, May 10, sparking fears from her family which led to a worldwide search being launched. Cleveland Police then revealed last night that Culley had been arrested in Georgia, as footage from a local broadcaster appeared to show the 18-year-old being walked into the Central Criminal Police Department in Tbilisi while in handcuffs. In a series of social media posts before her arrest, the teenager had boasted about her 'Bonnie and Clyde' lifestyle, while sharing videos flaunting her money and 'smoking cannabis'. In one TikTok post on April 1, the teenager wrote: 'Blonde or Brunette? Erm how about we get up to criminal activities side by side like Bonnie n Clyde making heavy figures and f*****g on balconies all over the world.' She added the caption 'I don't care if we on the runnnnn baby long as i'm next to uuu.' In another video on March 10, Culley shared a video where she appeared to be smoking cannabis in various locations while on her travels. The 18-year-old also flaunted her love for money, sharing an image of a pile of £10 and £20 notes being held together in a hairband. Her last posts on Instagram and Tiktok came on May 9. She was reported missing after family members did not hear from her from May 10. The 18-year-old was reportedly charged with illegally purchasing and storing a particularly large amount of narcotics, illegally purchasing and storing the narcotic drug marijuana, and illegally importing it into Georgia. During an inspection, '34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana were found in the passenger's bag, as well as 20 packages of hashish,' local media has claimed. Appearing in a court in Tbilisi today, Culley did not answer the judge's questions regarding drugs allegations. She told the court she chose to remain silent about the charges brought against her, Rustavi TV channel reported. The judge remanded her in custody. The report said Culley was arrested at Tbilisi Airport after a suspicious subject was found in her bag. The suspected drugs seized are the main evidence in the case. She told the court she chose to remain silent about the charges brought against her Culley's Georgian lawyer sought her release on bail. They told reporters: 'My client is currently exercising the right to remain silent, so we will provide detailed information later, once they decide how to proceed. 'A formal request must be submitted to the relevant authority, and then more detailed information regarding my client can be provided. 'At this stage, [she is] invoking [her] right to silence, and further developments will be shared later once a decision is made.' She had recently finished a course at Middlesbrough College with the aim of becoming a nurse and was due to speak to her mother Leannae Kennedy on Saturday. Her father Neil Culley flew out to Thailand with his sister Kerrie Culley to try to get answers after they did not hear from her. It then emerged she had been arrested in Tbilisi, nearly 4,000 miles away from her last known location near Bangkok. She now faces time in Tbilisi Prison No.5, Georgia's only female prison. A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report into the lock up previously criticised the 'severely overcrowded' facility after they alongside Amnesty International and Penal Reform International urged the Georgian government to end ill-treatment in their prisons in 2006. All the cells in the Georgian prison were said to have smelled 'strongly of human sweat, human excrement, and cigarette smoke,' according to the 2006 report The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT) described the conditions at No 5 as 'degrading', 'inhuman' and as such 'an affront to a civilised society' that same year. A HRW report also detailed the facility as being in a 'state of disrepair' at the time, with 'crumbling' walls and floors with some inmates having to sit on 'two tier metal bunk beds' when they were not sleeping. The bathroom were described as 'decaying and flithy', while all the cells were said to have smelled 'strongly of human sweat, human excrement, and cigarette smoke,' with garbage also found scattered near cell doors. Before police confirmed Culley's arrest, her mother Lyanne told Teesside Live: 'She flew out to the Philippines after Easter with a friend and she was there for three weeks. 'She was posting loads of pictures and then she went to Thailand on about May 3. 'The last message she sent was to me and that was on Saturday at 5.30pm saying she was going to Facetime me later. 'That was the last message anyone has received from what we can figure out up to now. 'I'm just waiting on her dad who is now in Bangkok to get back with any more information. I just want her home and safe or to hear her gorgeous little voice.' Her distraught mother had also told the Sun that she had a bad feeling about the 18-year-old's trip to Thailand. 'I really didn't want her to go to Thailand. I begged her to come home. I don't trust some of the boys over there,' she said. 'But she wanted to meet up with some friends she made over there on a previous trip. I don't know who any of them are.' When Culley's father Neil was told by officers at the Bangkok police station to contact the country's immigration bureau to figure out where she was last staying. The family previously contacted an airline, who revealed that Culley had made a request for a ticket but the payment never went through. Lyanne said: 'When she stopped answering messages I assumed it was because she was flying back to surprise me. But then nothing.' The distraught mother added: 'We think she was last near Pattaya, and was supposed to fly back from Bangkok via Frankfurt according to the itinerary.' 'But I never heard anything about picking her up.'
