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VULNERABLE drug charge teen Bella Culley is “not far from childhood”, her new lawyer said today on Wednesday after visiting her in a grim Georgian jail.
Bella’s family-appointed lawyer Malkhaz Salakaia, said the 18-year-old Brit did not even know where she was and had to have her location explained to her.
East2West
East2West
FacebookMr Salakaia said Bella was in “good health” but he would not describe her as an adult, adding that she was “not far from childhood.”
Bella was arrested on May 11 in capital Tbilisi’s airport with a suitcase packed with 31lb of cannabis and hashish after flying from Thailand via Sharjah in the UAE.
She faces 15 years to life in jail in the eastern European former Soviet state.
She is being held in watchtower-ringed Penitentiary No 5 near Tbilisi while prosecutors probe how she came to have the £200,000 stash and who she planned to hand it to.
The teenager had been away in the Far East for weeks and boasted of a “Bonnie and Clyde” lifestyle and posted pictures with wads of cash and smoking spliffs.
Her family have now dropped local legal aid lawyer Ia Todua in favour of Mr Salakaia who does not speak English and is understood to have been recommended by British Embassy staff.
He specialises in juvenile law and is expected to argue that vulnerable Bella – who announced she is pregnant in court – is a victim who was manipulated by ruthless traffickers.
Their first meeting lasted two hours at the jail near the town of Rustavi.
Mr Salakaia said his client was in good health, did not have any complaints about the place of detention and was ready to defend herself in court.
When asked whether he would describe Bella as an adequate adult, his answer was “no”.
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During their meeting, the teenager is also understood to have cooperated for the first time with Georgian cops probing her case.
Bella’s anguished dad Niel, 49, from Billingham. County Durham was allowed to visit her for the first time yesterday since her arrest at Tbilisi’s international airport on May 11.
He is believed to have ferried a food and clothing package to Bella at the grim No5 Women’s Penitentiary where she will be held until her next court appearance on July 1.
He spent around 45 minutes with Bella before emerging puffing nervously on a cigarette as he waited for a taxi. He declined to comment.
How might the cases of Bella Culley and Charlotte May be connected?
- Within a single day of Bella Culley’s arrest, Charlotte May, 21, was arrested in Sri Lanka after allegedly being caught trying to smuggle drugs worth £1.2m
- While the two arrests took place over 3,000 miles apart, people immediately noted striking similarities
- It is believed to be likely that Georgian and Sri Lankan authorities will launch a joint investigation
- Both women are said to have departed from the same airport – Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport – allegedly with the drugs on them
- In both cases, the drugs were stashed in airtight packages that suggest a level of professionalism
- Both women had told their loved ones that they planned on meeting a mystery man during their travels in Thailand: Bella’s grandad said she mentioned a man called “Ross or Russ”, while Charlotte’s friends said she made vague comments about meeting a man
Tim Stewart
Sri Lankan cops released a photo of the seized bags Charlotte was allegedly caught with
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