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 to Georgia, 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 they say 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
The teen was stopped at Tbilisi airport in a suspected sting operation and was found with drugs with a six-figure street value. Pictured: CCTV footage shows the Brit going through the automated gates at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand
The teen has maintained that she is innocent and instead says she was violently coerced into trafficking the narcotics
‘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.
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 (pictured)
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
The teen has maintained that she is innocent and instead says she was violently coerced into trafficking the narcotics.
Mr Tsaluqelashvili’s statement comes after the 19-year-old smiled at her mother Lyanne Kennedy, 44, after revealing she was expecting a boy while attending a court hearing.
Ms Kennedy appeared visibly distressed dressed in a cream top and matching tracksuit trousers but her face lit up when she heard her daughter’s news.
The concerned mother whispered to her daughter, ‘How are you?’ and Bella nervously responded with a smile and a nod.
The Teesside teenager then showed off the Georgian she has been learning from her cellmates, addressing the judge by saying ‘Garmajoba’, which means hello.
During the hearing the told the judge: ‘I hope you can understand the story from my eyes. I never thought something like this would happen to me.’
She then ended her statement by saying ‘madloba’ – which means thank you.
Ms Kennedy said outside court that she initially thought her daughter had been locked up in the American state of Georgia.
Mr Tsaluqelashvili’s statement comes after the 19-year-old told a hearing on Thursday that she ‘never thought something like this would happen to me’ (pictured)
Culley’s mother Lyanne Kennedy, 44, appeared visibly distressed dressed in a cream top and matching tracksuit trousers as she appeared in court to support her daughter
‘It’s been a pretty easy process, the solicitor is very good at what he does,’ she said.
‘I love Georgia, I love the buildings. It’s a beautiful country, I’ve been here three times already, I’m going to visit Bella tomorrow. We initially thought it was Georgia in America.’
Culley’s lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, insisted a plea bargain for his client to return to Britain is ‘quite likely’ and the ‘opportunity has been mentioned several times’.
During the hearing on Thursday, Mr Salakaia argued once more that there was ‘no malicious intent’ on his client’s part and said there was ‘irrefutable evidence’ that she was ‘pressured and forced’ into smuggling drugs.
He claims a British gang in Thailand forced her to smuggle the drugs after threatening to decapitate her and kill her family.
He said her testimony includes ‘the names of the individuals who forced her to transport it’ and said that her mother present was among those threatened.
Mr Salakaia said all his client was told was to meet ‘certain individuals’ in Tbilisi, and was so naive she thought the city was the name of the country.
He said her bag ‘wasn’t even locked’ after going through three countries and two continents’.
During the hearing on Thursday, Culley’s lawyer Mr Salakaia argued once more that there was ‘no malicious intent’ on his client’s part
Mr Salakaia responded that Bella’s family have put up a 50,000 lari (£13,700) bail and can provide her with an address in Tbilisi.
He said: ‘Bella has obvious health conditions, she is soon to become a mother to a baby boy and I’d want her to experience it while free.
‘It’s a pivotal moment in one’s life, especially one so young. She is merely 19. As for the prosecutor’s claim that she might escape and there are no links binding her to this country, her parents are ready to ensure that she will have an easily identifiable address here.
‘So if she were to be released on bail and asked to come to the police office twice per month. Pregnancy needs special treatment.’
