A BRIT held in Sri Lanka over drug smuggling accusations has struck up a friendship with a prison guard where she is being detained, say her pals.
Charlotte May Lee, 21, is due to appear before court tomorrow after her she was arrested upon getting off a plane from Thailand.
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She is accused of trying to smuggle some 46kg of a synthetic cannabis strain known as kush.
The former TUI stewardess told friends that she fears being locked away for more than 20 years in a call from behind bars.
But one friend who spoke to Charlotte said she’s found an unlikely new pal in one her prison guards.
A friend who spoke to her said: “She thinks she’s going away for a long time.
“She is scared but talks of becoming very friendly with a prison guard.”
Charlotte was stopped by customs officials after stepping off her flight last Monday.
She is currently being held in a jail cell in Sri Lanka as her proceeds through court.
“At the moment she can have visitors from 9.30am til 4.30pm, although there is no-one to go and see her in Sri Lanka, and her family are not flying out to meet her,” the friend said.
“All that changes when she is formally charged in court tomorrow.
“Then the doors slam shut and she’s in the hellish prison on her own.”
“Her life is in the balance and she’s scared.”
If found guilty, it has been reported that Charlotte could be sent to the “hellish” Welikada Prison in the capital Colombo.
One inmate told Al Jazeera back in 2011: “There are 650 of us in the female ward though it was built for 150 people.”
The prison is said to be chronically overcrowded – with figures shared by the UK government suggesting it current houses more than twice its capacity.
Inmates have reported seeing rats on the loose and even finding maggots in their food.
Another inmate said: “An open drain infested with rats runs the perimeter of the room.
“Recently, one of the inmates was bitten and had to be rushed to the hospital for an anti-rabies shot.”
Charlotte is believed to have left for Thailand weeks ago, and relatives say she made vague comments about meeting a man there following a recent painful break-up.
Another friend told The Sun on Sunday: “She’s been told if convicted, because of the size of the drugs haul, she’s looking at between 20 and 25 years in jail.
“British Embassy staff warned her she’s going nowhere soon.”
Her case follows that of fellow Brit Bella Culley, who was arrested in Georgia for alleged drug smuggling after being reported missing in Thailand.
Charlotte’s friend who spoke about the prison guard said she’s aware of the Bella Culley case.
But Charlotte and Bella have never met, with the former telling her friend “doesn’t know if there is any connection” to her own situation.
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