British teen drug mule suspect Bella Culley told her mother she is expecting a baby boy in a dramatic court hearing today.
The 19-year-old smiled at Lyanne Kennedy, 44, as she entered Tbilisi City Court in the Black Sea nation of Georgia where she is being held for allegedly smuggling 14kg of cannabis.
Bella, dressed in a grey turtleneck, was seen whispering to her lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, who then declared to Ms Kennedy: ‘It’s a boy!’
It was the first time her mother has attended a court hearing since her daughter was arrested at Tbilisi International Airport on May 10.
She appeared visibly distressed dressed in a cream top and matching tracksuit trousers but her face lit up when she heard the news.
Ms Kennedy whispered to her daughter, ‘How are you?’ and Bella nervously responded with a smile and a nod.
The Teesside teenager then showed off the Georgian she has been learning from her cellmates, addressing the judge by saying ‘Garmajoba’, which means hello.
‘I hope you can understand the story from my eyes. I never thought something like this would happen to me.’
The teen, from Billingham Teesside, was stopped at Tbilisi airport back in May and was found with drugs with a six-figure street value
Bella Culley’s mother pictured today outside Tbilisi City Court
Culley’s tearful mother told her daughter she loved her as she left the courtroom
She then ended her statement by saying ‘madloba’ – which means thank you.
Bella could face up to 20 years in jail or life imprisonment if convicted.
She had been detained for 61 days before the hearing while the prosecution investigated where the 12kg (26lbs) of marijuana and 2kg (4.4lbs) of hashish, found in a travel bag, came from, and whether she was planning on handing it over to someone else.
A request for bail citing her pregnancy was denied and a further hearing was scheduled for September 2.
As Bella walked out, her mother burst into tears and cried: ‘I love you! I will come tomorrow.’
Ms Kennedy said outside court that she initially thought her daughter had been locked up in the American state of Georgia.
‘It’s been a pretty easy process, the solicitor is very good at what he does,’ she said.
‘I love Georgia, I love the buildings. It’s a beautiful country, I’ve been here three times already, I’m going to visit Bella tomorrow. We initially thought it was Georgia in America.’
Pictured: Bella May Culley seen in court in Tbilisi in May after she was detained at the city’s airport on suspicion of carrying cannabis
Culley was charged with purchasing 446g of tetraphenol cannabinol and 11.2kg of cannabis abroad. Pictured: CCTV footage shows the Brit going through the automated gates at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand
Prosecutors said the teen could face up to 20 years behind bars
Asked how she felt on becoming a grandmother, she laughed and said: ‘Not grandma – Nana!’
Mr Salakaia insisted a plea bargain for his client to return to Britain is ‘quite likely’ and the ‘opportunity has been mentioned several times’.
He said while there was a water shortage briefly for a few hours the other day in Women’s Penitentiary No 5, that was quickly resolved and her conditions are fine.
‘She’s well taken care of,’ he said.
Inside, Mr Salakaia had argued once more that there was ‘no malicious intent’ on his client’s part and said there was ‘irrefutable evidence’ that she was ‘pressured and forced’ into smuggling drugs.
He claims a British gang in Thailand forced her to smuggle the drugs after threatening to decapitate her and kill her family.
He said her testimony includes ‘the names of the individuals who forced her to transport it’ and said that her mother present was among those threatened.
Mr Salakaia said all his client was told was to meet ‘certain individuals’ in Tbilisi, and was so naive she thought the city was the name of the country.
The British 18-year-old claimed she was violently coerced into trafficking the narcotics
Culley was denied bail after the teenager was deemed a flight risk
Culley entered a not guilty plea but her trial date, which was originally set for July 10, was postponed
He said her bag ‘wasn’t even locked’ after going through three countries and two continents’.
Prosecutor Vakhtang Tsalugelashvili said there were no new developments in the case and said she must be denied bail and leave of the country.
Mr Salakaia responded that Bella’s family have put up a 50,000 lari (£13,700) bail and can provide her with an address in Tbilisi.
He said: ‘Bella has obvious health conditions, she is soon to become a mother to a baby boy and I’d want her to experience it while free.
‘It’s a pivotal moment in one’s life, especially one so young. She is merely 19. As for the prosecutor’s claim that she might escape and there are no links binding her to this country, her parents are ready to ensure that she will have an easily identifiable address here.
‘So if she were to be released on bail and asked to come to the police office twice per month. Pregnancy needs special treatment.’
The teen was stopped at Tbilisi airport back in May in a suspected sting operation and was found with drugs with a six-figure street value.
The huge haul was found in the then-18-year-old’s suitcase. She was flying into the country on a plane from Sharjah in the UAE.
Pictured: The alleged drug-filled suitcase of Culley
Pictured: Bella’s father Niel Culley and his sister Kerrie Culley (Bella’s aunt) pictured in Tbilisi following her arrest in May
Bella May Culley’s lawyer Malkhaz Alakaia pictured outside court
Prior to her arrest in the Georgian capital, Culley sparked a massive international search operation after she was reported missing while she was believed to be holidaying in Thailand.
She was charged with purchasing 446g of tetraphenol cannabinol and 11.2kg of cannabis abroad.
Prosecutor David Mestvirishvili previously said she faced up to 20 years behind bars.
The teen has maintained that she is innocent and instead says she was violently coerced into trafficking the narcotics.
Breaking down in tears throughout a 30-minute hearing at Tbilisi City Court in the Georgian capital earlier this month, she told a judge: ‘I didn’t want to do this, I was forced under torture.
‘I just wanted to travel, I just want to live with my family, I am a loving person, I am studying at the university to become a nurse.
‘All I wanted to do is travel, but bad things happened. I don’t do drugs, as you can see in my blood tests I am clean. I always wanted to make my family proud. Thank you.’
Pictured: A bikini-clad Bella with a cannabis joint in her mouth
Culley (pictured) is languishing in notorious Women’s Penitentiary Number Five
She appeared distressed as she entered court in a pink jumper with her hair tied in a bun.
Bella’s father Niel Culley, 49, and auntie Kerrie Culley, 51, were seen inside as well as her grandfather, while her mother appeared via video-link.
They offered £13,500 to grant her bail but it was denied.
Her father told his daughter to ‘stay strong’.
Judge Lela Kalichenkowas denied Culley bail after agreeing with prosecutors that the teenager is a flight risk and could commit the crime again.
Malkhaz Alakaia, defending, argued she should be granted bail and claimed she tried to show police a ‘long snake like’ scar on her arm when she was transiting as evidence she had been coerced.
He said she arrived in Thailand with just £70 to her name and has since become pregnant – describing the unborn child, whose father is also British, as ‘a labour of love’.
Mr Alakaia said: ‘You’ll see her actual involvement with these charges in her own testimony that is coming shortly. She is innocent.
‘Her emotional state exactly confirms that she was forced, I want to ask her to show the court her arm and you can see the burning scar, this scar occurred before she was ‘equipped’ with her carriage, that she never even touched.
‘From Thailand to Sharja, from Sharja to Thailand, this baggage was carried by a different person. She was only given a passport and told you go there and there.
‘She tried to inform the passport control but was paid no attention. She even has no idea geographically where she is, she thought Tbilisi was a country.
‘She was given a photo and was told to keep and that she would be approached by certain people. This meeting didn’t happen because she was detained.’
She claimed in court she was pregnant and her lawyer said she had been left ‘scared, confused and depressed’.
Her lawyer also described how the teen broke down on being told she could face life behind bars if convicted.
A later trial scheduled for July 10 was postponed immediately after it began due to issues concerning evidence.
Thai police released CCTV earlier this month showing Culley calmly passing through airport checks without showing unusual behaviour.
They said they were preparing to blacklist her ‘for entering Thailand to commit a drug offence’.
Police Major General Cherngron Rimphadee, said: ‘This matter is not complicated.
‘Police have reviewed CCTV footage and confirmed that she used a British passport to exit through the automatic passport control channel.
‘As a result, she did not interact with or speak to any immigration officers and simply exited the country.
‘The police have already released the CCTV images to the media, showing that she left without giving any signal or indication that she needed help, contrary to her claims.
‘It was a deliberate departure.’
Culley is languishing in notorious Women’s Colony Number 5 on the outskirts of Tbilisi, and could be facing 20 years in prison.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .