Bella may culley 'visibly shaken' after being told severity of her alleged crime

BELLA MAY CULLEY FROM BILLINGHAM, IS ACCUSED OF SMUGGLING ABOUT 12KG OF CANNABIS AND AROUND 2KG OF HASHISH INTO GEORGIA SIMON MURPHY IN TBILISI, GEORGIA, PHIL CARDY and NICOLE GOODWIN City

Centre Reporter 08:33, 16 May 2025Updated 16:15, 16 May 2025 A North East teen suspected of smuggling drugs into Georgia was "visibly shaken" when told the severity of her alleged

crime, a lawyer revealed. Bella May Culley faces a jail sentence after allegedly being caught with cannabis flying into the former Soviet state's capital Tbilisi. The 18-year-old had

vanished in Thailand before turning up in Eastern Europe where she was on TV handcuffed to an official – telling a court she's pregnant. Now her lawyer, Ia Todua has disclosed:

"When I explained to her that what she was accused of was an especially severe crime then she was concerned and visibly shaken", The Mirror reports. Asked whether she thought Bella

May realised the full extent of her alleged actions, her lawyer said: "My impression was that she ended up in Georgia without even knowing what she was doing." She added:

"She looked like she didn't expect it to have such severe consequences." Bella May, from Billingham, is accused of carrying about 12kg of cannabis and around 2kg of hashish

into the country and faces a lengthy spell behind bars if found guilty — which could be life in the worst-case scenario. On Wednesday, Bella May’s dad, Niel and aunt Kerrie held a meeting

with the same lawyer at an office in Tbilisi. Article continues below Bella May has written to prison authorities requesting permission for a visit from her family. The process can take up

to five working days, however, there is a chance she could see them as soon as tomorrow. It came as it emerged Bella May had earlier told her grandad she was travelling to the Philippines to

see a male. Speaking from the UK on Thursday, grandad William Culley, 80, said: "Last night they were told they could see her in the morning. They said they'd ring me straight

after they had seen her but I haven't had a call. They must still be waiting. "It's just really important that they get to see her as soon as possible. The poor bairn must be

at her wits' end. Especially if we can't see her. Everything should be done to make that happen." Mr Culley said that Bella had travelled to the Philippines with plans to meet

a male who had moved to the country from the North East. He added: "She went to the Philippines to see somebody, a lad there, who she used to go out with a couple of years ago, who was

working out there. "She said, 'I'm going on my own, but I'm meeting Ross out there. Or Russ, I'm not sure what his name is. He was working out there for his

father's company or something. But now I wonder if what she told me was true." Bella's dad Niel lives in Vietnam but retains a property in Billingham. Mr Culley said he had

been instructed by his son to market the house to raise money towards legal help for his daughter, who recently started doing bank shifts as a nurse. Article continues below He said he was

"surprised" when lawyers for Bella revealed she is pregnant. "I only found out when my daughter told me last night", he added. JOIN OUR WHATSAPP COMMUNITIES ChronicleLive

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