A pregnant British drug mule suspect could face up to 15 years in a Georgian jail as prosecutors claims she acted with ‘prior intent’.
Bella Culley, 19, was caught in the former Soviet Union nation in May with £200,000 worth of cannabis in her luggage.
The mother-to-be claims she was forced to peddle the drugs from Thailand, claiming she was burned with a hot iron and shown a beheading video by a Thai gang.
She then claims she flew to Tbilisi with 14kg of illegal cargo hidden in her bags.
But Georgian prosecutor Vakhtang Tsaluqelashvili has questioned the teenager’s plea and revealed prosecutors have found evidence which proves Culley’s crime was premeditated and calculated.
Mr Tsaluqelashvili told The Sun: ‘We have evidence confirming that the defendant acted with prior intent.’
He added that the pregnant teen passed through multiple airports through three countries and across wo continents, and at no point did she seem scared or concerned or display any behavior that would lead authorities to believe she was acting under duress.
Mr Tsaluqelashvili went on to say: ‘Among other things, at the moment of her arrest, she did not say anything of this kind to the Georgian customs officers either.
Bella Culley (pictured) was caught in Georgia with £200,000 worth of cannabis in her luggage which the pregnant 19-year-old claims she was forced to smuggle by a Thai gang
‘Given the gravity of the offence committed, the minimum expected sentence is 15 years – even taking into account the mitigating circumstances.’
Culley had been detained for 61 days before the hearing while the prosecution investigated where the 12kg (26lbs) of marijuana and 2kg (4.4lbs) of hashish, found in a travel bag, came from, and whether she was planning on handing it over to someone else.
A request for bail citing her pregnancy was denied and a further hearing was scheduled for September 2.
The teen was stopped at Tbilisi airport back in May in a suspected sting operation and was found with drugs with a six-figure street value.
The huge haul was found in the then-18-year-old’s suitcase. She was flying into the country on a plane from Sharjah in the UAE.
Prior to her arrest in the Georgian capital, Culley sparked a massive international search operation after she was reported missing while she was believed to be holidaying in Thailand.
She was charged with purchasing 446g of tetraphenol cannabinol and 11.2kg of cannabis abroad.
Prosecutor David Mestvirishvili previously said she faced up to 20 years behind bars.
The teen has maintained that she is innocent and instead says she was violently coerced into trafficking the narcotics.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.
