An 18-year-old British woman, previously reported missing in Thailand, has been arrested in Georgia, more than 6,500 kilometres away, on charges of drug smuggling.
Georgian authorities say Bella Culley, from Billingham, County Durham, was detained at Tbilisi International Airport after customs officers allegedly found 12 kilograms of marijuana and two kilograms of hashish concealed in her luggage.
The country’s interior ministry said Culley faces life imprisonment if convicted, with a minimum sentence of 20 years.
At an initial court hearing, Culley remained silent and was later transferred to a women’s pre-trial detention centre in the city of Rustavi, her lawyer confirmed.
According to British media, Culley had not been in contact with her family since 10 May, when she failed to check in via FaceTime with her mother, Lyanne Kennedy.
Her father, based in Vietnam, travelled to Bangkok in an attempt to locate her but learned on Tuesday that she had been taken into custody in Georgia.
Ms Kennedy told reporters that her daughter had recently spent three weeks in the Philippines with a friend and had planned to study nursing.
On 16 April, Culley posted a TikTok video from the Philippines, captioned: “Needed a hug but instead made the biggest decision of my life and found peace in another country’s culture and way of life.”
She reportedly arrived in Thailand on 3 May to meet friends from a previous trip, which her mother was unaware of.
Culley had been actively sharing content from her travels, including videos of snorkelling, cave visits, and turtle sightings. Her final post was uploaded on 9 May, the day before she was reported missing.
Videos have since emerged on TikTok and Instagram showing Culley holding large sums of cash and allegedly smoking cannabis in the back seat of a car. Authorities have not yet responded to the footage.
According to The Sun, Culley may have altered her travel plans after being persuaded by a group of British men to visit Thailand.
The paper also reported that the teenager is linked to several business entities — at least two with Chinese ties — and is registered as the director of Lujamen Limited, a firm described as “agents specialised in the sale of other particular products.”
UK officials have previously raised concerns over rising cannabis smuggling from Thailand, following the country’s 2022 decriminalisation of the drug.
Authorities say British nationals are being recruited via chat apps, lured by free holidays and cash incentives to carry cannabis back to the UK.
