A British teenager at the centre of an international missing person hunt has claimed she is pregnant after being found in a prison in Georgia on drugs charges.
Bella May Culley,18,was arrested after smuggling 14 kilos of cannabis into the ex-soviet country.
At her hearing in Tbilisi city court yesterday,she announced she was pregnant,and will now undergo a medical examination.
She flew out to the Philippines just after Easter before heading on to Thailand,regularly sharing pictures on social media.
But when the posts stopped and she failed to call her mum,Lyanne Kennedy,on Saturday as planned,concerns were raised.
Her family had been so concerned that dad,Neil,and sister,Kerry,flew out to Thailand try and track her down.
Alleged suitcase of British citizen Bella May Culley (Picture: imedinews /east2west news)
Bella May Culley,had been missing for four days after her phone went dead (Picture: NCJ Media)
Neil is now travelling to Georgia to see his daughter who is ‘terrified and confused’,her lawyer told MailOnline.
They contacted immigration services and the airline she had flown with,but neither shed any light on her whereabouts.
It has now emerged that she is in Georgia where she faces up to 20 years or life imprisonment in the country’s only female prison – a harsh unit in a state of decay.
Footage was released showing her,in handcuffs,being walked through the Central Criminal Police Department in Tbilisi.
Bella was paraded in court by security guards after officials heard she was caught with 34 sealed packages containing marijuana as well as 20 packages of hashish (Picture: Leon McGowran)
The teenager from County Durham has been travelling around Thailand and was reported missing after failing to arrive back in the UK at the weekend (Picture: Facebook)
Why or how Bella managed to travel from Thailand to Georgia is unclear (Picture: Prime time /east2west news)
It is alleged that she had 30lbs (14kg) of cannabis in her bags when she was stopped at the Tbilisi International Airport.
According to local reports,she had 34 packs of marijuana and 20 packs of hashish.
Lyanne told The Sun: ‘I really didn’t want her to go to Thailand. I begged her to come home. I don’t trust some of the boys over there.
‘But she wanted to meet up with some friends she made over there on a previous trip. I don’t know who any of them are.
Footage appears to show the handcuffed teenager being walked into the Central Criminal Police Department in Tbilisi (Picture: Rustavi2 /east2west news)
The Rustavi prison in Georgia is said to be decaying and has housed inmates including the country’s former prime minister(Picture: Wikimapia)
She could spend up to 20 years of the rest of her life,adhering to the strict regimes of the jail (Picture: Wikimapia)
Tbilisi Prison No.5 is the only female jail in Georgia (Picture: Wikimapia)
She had been posting shots of herself on countless sunny beaches while away in Thailand (Picture: Facebook)
Bella is thought to be held at the Rustavi Prison
Her disappearance sparked concern from family members and led to an international manhunt (Picture: Facebook)
‘When she stopped answering messages,I assumed it was because she was flying back to surprise me. But then nothing.’
The jail where she is being held,Tbilisi Prison No. 5,was described as being ‘severely overcrowded’ by Human Rights Watch.
They joined Amnesty International and Penal Reform International in urging the Georgian government to tackle issues in their prisons nearly 20 years ago.
A further report from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment said conditions were degrading,inhuman and an affront to civilised society.
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