Billingham teen Bella Culley faces months in Georgia jail

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Billingham teen Bella Culley faces months in Georgia jail

Tom Burgess

BBC News, North East and Cumbria

Rayhan Demytrie

Caucasus correspondent

Reporting fromTbilisi, Georgia

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Bella Culley’s family is being supported by the Foreign Office

A British teenager could spend up to nine months in a Georgian prison while she is investigated on suspicion of drug offences.

Bella Culley, 18, from Billingham on Teesside, appeared at a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday and, at the end of proceedings, told the court she was pregnant.

The prosecutor asked for 55 days to find evidence before the case is brought to trial and the BBC understands this could be extended by a further seven months.

Miss Culley’s lawyer, Ia Todua, said police wanted to establish where the drugs had come from and whether she was “planning to hand it over to someone”.

Miss Culley was arrested at Tbilisi, Georgia, and charged with illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics including **********.

Ms Todua, who has been appointed by the state to represent the teenager, said the prosecution estimated they would need two months to gather information.

The lawyer said: “They said that they had to conduct a lot of investigative activities, so that they can collect evidence, establish where it was from [the narcotics] and was she planning to hand it over to someone.

“That’s what they said they want to establish, and they also confiscated her phone.”

She added that at the end of the hearing Miss Culley “told the court that she was pregnant”.

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Bella Culley told the Georgian court that she was pregnant at the end of her hearing

The BBC understands that other lawyers had been in touch to represent Miss Culley and the British consular service has planned a meeting.

The Foreign Office has confirmed that it is “supporting the family of a British woman who is detained in Georgia”.

Georgian Police said officers had seized up to 12kg (26lbs) of ********** and just over 2kg (4.4lbs) of the ********* drug hashish in a travel bag at Tbilisi International Airport.

A spokesperson said the arrest was the result of a joint operation between multiple departments and, if found guilty, Miss Culley could face up to 20 years in jail or life imprisonment.

Cleveland Police has confirmed an 18-year-old woman from Billingham has been arrested in Georgia “on suspicion of drugs offences” and remains in custody.

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