Charlotte May Lee: TUI stewardess, 21, faces decades in prison for 'smuggling drugs' from Thailand to Sri Lanka

Charlotte May Lee was arrested in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, last week after being accused of smuggling 46kg of Kush - a synthetic form of cannabis - into the country. The 21-year-old woman, from Coulsdon, south London, had been travelling from Bangkok and was detained after stepping off her plane.

She is currently being held in a local jail, Negombo Prison, while her case progresses through the courts. If found guilty of the charges held against her, it is understood Lee faces being sent to Welikada Prison in the capital Colombo - the country’s largest, maximum security jail.

The woman is said to have had two suitcases stuffed with 46kg of a synthetic drug known as kush on her possession at Bandaranaike International Airport. It is believed Lee left the UK for Thailand a fortnight ago, having made vague comments to friends about meeting a man in the Far East country. She ended up in Sri Lanka. Officials from the Customs Narcotics Control Unit in the airport said it is the largest amount of Kush ever discovered at the airport.

A friend, close to the Lee family, told the Sun on Sunday: "We’re frantically worried. She was arrested then seemingly abandoned and is rotting in a jail cell. She’s very scared." Another friend added: "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."

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said with regards to Lee’s case: "We are supporting a British woman who has been arrested in Sri Lanka and are in contact with her family and the local authorities."