Bella May Culley, a 19-year-old British student nurse from Billingham, Teesside, has found herself at the center of a legal and human drama that stretches from Southeast Asia to the Caucasus. Arrested on May 10, 2025, at Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia, Culley was accused of attempting to smuggle 12 kilograms of marijuana and 2 kilograms of hashish in her luggage—a charge that, under Georgian law, could have resulted in a sentence of up to 20 years or even life in prison, according to reports from Sky News and the BBC.
Culley’s story is anything but straightforward. Before her arrest in Georgia, she had gone missing in Thailand, with her family raising alarms about her sudden disappearance. According to her own account, as reported by BBC and The Mirror, she had been tortured in Thailand and forced to carry the drugs under threat to her safety and that of her family. "I didn't want to do this. I was forced by torture... All I wanted to do was to travel," she told the court in July. Her lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, has stated that Culley showed visible signs of torture upon arrival in Georgia, and that she maintained her innocence, insisting, "I am a good person. I am a student at university. I am a clean person. I don't do drugs."
The arrest set off a flurry of legal activity and family mobilization. Facing the grim prospect of a lengthy prison term, Culley’s family, led by her mother Lyanne Kennedy and father Niel Culley, scrambled to secure her release or at least mitigate her sentence. The family ultimately managed to raise 500,000 Georgian Lari (approximately £137,000 to £138,000, or about €158,000), which they paid to the Georgian authorities as part of a plea bargain. This substantial payment, confirmed by both Sky News and BBC, was intended to reduce Culley’s sentence from a potential life term to just two years in prison.
The plea bargain process is a common feature of Georgia’s legal system, particularly in drug-related cases. According to the BBC, more than 90% of such cases in Georgia are resolved through plea agreements. Culley’s lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, explained that the agreement was in its final stages as of October 28, 2025, with only technicalities remaining. He noted, "Reaching an agreement with the prosecutor's office is in its final stage. Only the technical issues remain to be finalised, for which we need several more days." The final verdict is scheduled to be announced on Monday, November 3, 2025.
Despite the progress, the process has been fraught with uncertainty. The family’s payment fell short of the amount initially demanded by the court for Culley’s immediate release. "It was a lot more!" Lyanne Kennedy told The Mirror, referring to the original sum of 800,000 Georgian Lari (£220,000) requested. Still, the payment of 500,000 Lari was enough to secure the plea bargain for a two-year sentence, though immediate release was off the table. The court also denied a request from Culley’s lawyer to release her on bail ahead of her final sentencing, with Judge Giorgi Gelashvili stating there were no legal grounds for such a change.
As of late October, Culley had already served nearly six months in a women’s prison in Rustavi, a city just outside Tbilisi. She is heavily pregnant—reports from BBC and Sky News indicate she is around 35 weeks along—and faces the real possibility of giving birth behind bars. This looming reality has weighed heavily on both Culley and her family. During the most recent court hearing, she expressed concern about the fate of her baby if she remains incarcerated. Her lawyer reassured her, "Nobody is going to take the baby away from you." Observers in court described her as calm but concerned, managing a smile and a wave to her family despite the gravity of the situation, according to ITV.
The details of Culley’s arrest remain contested. Her lawyers claim she never actually checked in the bag containing the drugs and tried to alert airport staff, but was too afraid to do so openly, fearing she was being watched. The prosecution, however, maintains that drugs were found in her luggage upon arrival from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The circumstances leading up to her appearance in Georgia are equally murky. Culley was reported missing in Pattaya, Thailand, before resurfacing in Tbilisi. She alleges that she was kidnapped by gangsters in Thailand, tortured—including being branded with an iron—and threatened with violence against her family if she did not comply with their demands. These claims have not been independently verified, but her lawyer insists that physical evidence of mistreatment was visible when she was taken into custody in Georgia.
Georgia’s use of plea bargains in drug cases is controversial, but not uncommon. The law allows for financial settlements that can reduce or even eliminate prison time, depending on the circumstances and the sums involved. In Culley’s case, the payment of 500,000 Lari was enough to secure the two-year sentence, but not enough for immediate release or house arrest. Her lawyer has not ruled out the possibility of seeking a presidential pardon after the final verdict is delivered, a move that could further reduce her time in custody or allow her to serve her sentence elsewhere.
For now, the family waits anxiously for the court’s final decision. Culley’s mother, speaking outside Tbilisi City Court, said, "She's looking big, pregnant, but she looks strong." The family’s ordeal has drawn attention to the risks faced by young travelers abroad, the complexities of international law, and the sometimes harsh realities of justice in foreign countries. As the world watches and waits for the verdict, one thing is certain: the story of Bella Culley is a sobering reminder of how quickly a life can change, and how the search for mercy and justice can become a global struggle.
With the final hearing set for November 3, all eyes remain on Tbilisi to see whether the plea bargain will hold and what the future holds for Bella Culley and her unborn child.
