BBC Information, North East and Cumbria
Caucasus correspondent
Bella CulleyA British teenager has been arrested in Tbilisi, Georgia, on suspicion of drug offences.
Bella Culley, 18, from Billingham on Teesside, who had gone lacking in Thailand, has been charged with illegally shopping for, possessing and importing massive portions of narcotics together with marijuana.
Georgian Police have stated, if discovered responsible, she may withstand 20 years in jail or life imprisonment.
Miss Culley didn’t converse throughout an preliminary listening to earlier than she was despatched to an all-female pre-trial detention facility within the metropolis of Rustavi, her lawyer stated.
Ia Todua, who has been appointed by the state to characterize Miss Culley, confirmed she arrived in Georgia from Thailand on 10 Might and had been held in non permanent detention.
She stated different legal professionals had been in contact to characterize Miss Culley and the British consular service deliberate a gathering.
Ms Todua stated: “She was so clenched, she is a toddler, in my private opinion.
“When she was defined the essence of the accusation she was anxious to talk.
“After we requested her to testify at that second she determined to decide on silence.”
The Overseas Workplace has confirmed that it’s “supporting the household of a British lady who’s detained in Georgia”.
Georgia PoliceGeorgian Police stated officers had seized as much as 12kg (26lbs) of marijuana and simply over 2kg (4.4lbs) of the narcotic drug cannabis in a journey bag at Tbilisi Worldwide Airport.
A spokesperson stated the arrest was the results of a joint operation between a number of departments.
Ms Culley had been “charged with the unlawful buy and possession of a very great amount of narcotics, the unlawful buy and possession of the narcotic drug marijuana, and the unlawful importation of the drug into Georgia”, the pressure stated.
Cleveland Police has confirmed an 18-year-old lady from Billingham has been arrested in Georgia “on suspicion of medicine offences” and stays in custody.
