Brit teen, 18, missing while travelling in Thailand arrested in Georgia on drug offences - facing life behind bars in 'overcrowded' prison

Bella May Culley, 18, was last seen in Pattaya, a city in the east of the south-east Asian country. However, it has now been revealed that she has been arrested thousands of miles away in the country of Georgia, in the Caucasus region.

Cleveland Police said the Georgian authorities said she had been arrested there on suspicion of drug offences and was in custody. Footage shared by broadcasters in Georgia appeared to show the 18 year-old walking into court in handcuffs.

Customs officers at Georgia’s Tbilisi International Airport discovered her bag to be full of drugs, according to local media reports. Images showed a suitcase apparently full of drugs including around a dozen sachets labelled “hash”.

The teenager has already appeared in court and has been remanded in custody. Her lawyer requested bail, but the judge denied this after the prosecutor raised concerns about her absconding.

Ms Culley could face up to 20 years or even life imprisonment if found guilty. The family of the teenager, who is from Billingham, Co Durham, had earlier appealed to the public for any information about her whereabouts.

Lyanne Kennedy, Ms Culley’s mother, said her daughter had travelled around the Philippines in April before flying to Thailand on May 3. She told Teesside Live: “She flew out to the Philippines after Easter with a friend and she was there for three weeks. She was posting loads of pictures and then she went to Thailand on about May 3.

“The last message she sent was to me and that was on Saturday at 5.30pm saying she was going to FaceTime me later. That was the last message anyone has received from what we can figure out up to now.”

Ms Culley’s father and aunt, Neil and Kerrie Culley, had flown to Thailand to try to find her. The family of Ms Culley had alerted police in Thailand and Britain about her disappearance.

A spokesman for Cleveland Police said on Tuesday: “We have had confirmation from the authorities in Georgia that an 18-year-old woman from Billingham has been arrested there on suspicion of drugs offences and that she remains in their custody.” The British teen could face two decades or more behind bars in the country's only female prison, Tbilisi Prison No.5, located 45 minutes away from the ex-Soviet capital.

On its website, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) states it cannot get Brits out of jail in Georgia or help anyone get special treatment because they are British. Its website has a page specifically about arrests in the nation, in which it states "prison conditions vary". It adds: "It is usual in Georgia for cells/dormitories to be shared. There is no set maximum number of occupants, rather it depends on the type of facility, size of the room, etc."