Picture courtesy of Facebook

 

In a twist that took everyone by surprise, Bella May Culley, a teenager from Billingham, County Durham, and once believed missing in Thailand, has surfaced 4,000 miles away, facing severe drug charges in Georgia. The 18-year-old was apprehended at Tbilisi International Airport with an alleged massive haul of cannabis, raising concerns for her family who had been anxiously searching for her in Asia.

 

Bella, a former Middlesbrough College student who had just completed a nursing course, is accused by Georgian authorities of attempting to smuggle 14kg of cannabis along with quantities of hashish into the country. Caught with 34 sealed packs of marijuana during a scanner check, her arrest has shocked both her loved ones and those following the case.

 

The charges are grave, with the Georgian Interior Ministry stating the crime warrants up to 20 years or even life imprisonment. Bella was denied bail by a judge, who deemed her a flight risk. This development has devastated her family, who had been last in touch with her on May 3, when she was believed to be in Thailand.

 

 

Her mother, Lyanne Kennedy, detailed Bella's journey, explaining that the teen had been travelling in the Philippines before heading to Thailand. Kennedy described receiving a message from Bella, promising a later Facetime call that never materialised. "I just want her home and safe or to hear her gorgeous little voice," Kennedy lamented, recalling her initial reluctance to let Bella travel.

 

Back in England, the family, shocked by the news from Georgia, had initially believed Bella’s disappearance was a flight back to the UK gone awry. Her father, Neil Culley, and aunt, Kerrie, had even travelled to Thailand, joining the frantic search. As efforts to locate Bella prior to her arrest intensified, her phone being switched off around Pattaya complicated matters for family and Thai authorities alike.

 

Bella’s father had tried piecing together her movements, which led to contacting Thai immigration officials and exhausting other avenues without any leads until the Georgian arrest came to light. Moreover, her supposed plans to surprise her family by flying home never materialised as expected, heightening their angst.

 

 

With Bella now facing a daunting legal battle in Georgia and the prospect of a long prison sentence, her family is left grappling with disbelief and fear. This unexpected turn has transformed what was hoped to be a reunion into a distressing international ordeal, leaving her loved ones to navigate the complexities of supporting Bella from afar in a foreign legal system.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-05-14

 

 

See ya, wouldn’t wanna be-ya…

Drug charges??? I thought she was arrested for the ugly photos

They should just let her go as gesture of goodwill. At the end of the day Canabis is generally very harmless and police and governments who treat it as otherwise as usually cruel and stupid. How many people in prison in the USA for Mary Jane?

Anyone who tries this deserves all they get.

And who puts videos of themselves in underwear taking selfies in a mirror also needs locking up. 

Utterly brainless. Only 18, yet she's completed a nursing course. Must have just completed the first section, how to pack 10 kg of medicinal supplies into a suitcase.

10 hours ago, Magictoad said:

They should just let her go as gesture of goodwill. At the end of the day Canabis is generally very harmless and police and governments who treat it as otherwise as usually cruel and stupid. How many people in prison in the USA for Mary Jane?

 

It is legal in Georgia, her issue will be the carrying 30lb of it on an airplane.

This cannabis policy is now attracting all sorts of criminals and lowlifes trying to send it over to countries where it is illegal, and big profits can be made.

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The 18-year-old

Gawd, she struck out in the looks department. 

 

Looks like a 40 year old Thai woman. 

 

Those western chicks do nothing for me. 

 

 

hmm… well they definitely know where she is now, for many years to

come. Silly woman

 

4 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

It is legal in Georgia, her issue will be the carrying 30lb of it on an airplane.

FYI: There is another Georgia outside of the USA. You might want to go there and explain.

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

In a twist that took everyone by surprise, Bella May Culley, a teenager from Billingham, County Durham, and once believed missing in Thailand, has surfaced 4,000 miles away, facing severe drug charges in Georgia. The 18-year-old was apprehended at Tbilisi International Airport with an alleged massive haul of cannabis, raising concerns for her family who had been anxiously searching for her in Asia

From Thailand to Georgia to a jail-house... funding your holiday travels with drugs is a dumb idea.

I landed in Japan once (working on Okinawa). Fresh out of Don Mueng. The customs officer asked me, "Do you have any drugs? Marijuana or cocaine?"

 

I started slapping all my pockets & said "Nope. Fresh out, but if I had some I'd share it with you. That way we could both get HIGH".

 

He told me to get lost.

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

leaving her loved ones to navigate the complexities of supporting Bella from afar in a foreign legal system

and leaving readers to face pleas of financial support coming soon to a website near you.

4 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

It is legal in Georgia, her issue will be the carrying 30lb of it on an airplane.

Cannabis is not fully legal in Georgia. Personal use of small amounts (up to 70 grams) of marijuana is decriminalized, meaning possession for personal consumption is not a criminal offense but can result in administrative penalties like fines or community service. However, cultivation, distribution, sale, and importation remain illegal and carry severe penalties. For instance, smuggling or possessing large quantities, as in the case of Bella May Culley, can lead to charges with potential sentences of 7 years to life imprisonment,

Let's guess her defence - I'm going with she lost her money/ran out, needed a way to get home, and some man offered her some money to take a case, which she didn't know what was inside, to Georgia, then to head home.

 

I imagine she was getting smashed by some flash Georgian in Pattaya and was just offered straight cash to do it.

I've been hearing about this scam back to the Posh Pete days.

 

Yeah, I've got the officers/officials paid off you will just walk right through.

Nice little holiday and some spending cash.

Sorry, I know it's a tough lesson to learn but anyone who is believing this needs help.

 

 

Yet another intellectual giant hits the headlines.

Young and dumb (even though she looks 28 or 38 in these pictures and video).

I think it's funny...their little poppet aint no poppet no more.

9 minutes ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

Cannabis is not fully legal in Georgia. Personal use of small amounts (up to 70 grams) of marijuana is decriminalized, meaning possession for personal consumption is not a criminal offense but can result in administrative penalties like fines or community service. However, cultivation, distribution, sale, and importation remain illegal and carry severe penalties. For instance, smuggling or possessing large quantities, as in the case of Bella May Culley, can lead to charges with potential sentences of 7 years to life imprisonment,

yeah she was carrying more than 70gm.

16 minutes ago, jaywalker said:

I landed in Japan once (working on Okinawa). Fresh out of Don Mueng. The customs officer asked me, "Do you have any drugs? Marijuana or cocaine?"

 

I started slapping all my pockets & said "Nope. Fresh out, but if I had some I'd share it with you. That way we could both get HIGH".

 

He told me to get lost.

Your lucky you didn't get the rubber glove inspection.

14 minutes ago, jaywalker said:

I landed in Japan once (working on Okinawa). Fresh out of Don Mueng. The customs officer asked me, "Do you have any drugs? Marijuana or cocaine?"

 

I started slapping all my pockets & said "Nope. Fresh out, but if I had some I'd share it with you. That way we could both get HIGH".

 

He told me to get lost.

dude! did you really pulled that off?

I once almost got my ass shipped back here for crossing a red light. 

 

19 minutes ago, Krabi King said:

FYI: There is another Georgia outside of the USA. You might want to go there and explain.

 

19 minutes ago, Krabi King said:

FYI: There is another Georgia outside of the USA. You might want to go there and explain.

Considering the airport name, no need to explain.

Another dumb wrench 🤗

I smell a rat. It is obvious the arrest clip is staged. AI maybe. There aren't any other people visible. At night? 

According to the ChronicleLive she claims to be pregnant!!

 

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/arrested-north-east-teen-bella-31641215

15 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Drug charges??? I thought she was arrested for the ugly photos

 

Naw if they arrested people for ugly photos, most of us on here would be in the Bangkok Hilton Hotel

22 minutes ago, neeray said:

Young and dumb (even though she looks 28 or 38 in these pictures and video).

Previously full of cum...

31 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

From Thailand to Georgia to a jail-house... funding your holiday travels with drugs is a dumb idea.

 

Yep, add in that supposedly she's knocked up.  The story can't get any better.  Wonder if Georgia will take custody of the child or if they will let the parents.

 

Goes into court in a crop top and shorts, mmmm, going to be interesting to see the deal her Georgian lawyer makes.

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-bella-culley-claims-shes-35222771