The family of Bella Culley, a 19-year-old from Billingham, Teesside, who is heavily pregnant, has paid £137,000 to drastically reduce her sentence for drug smuggling in Georgia.
Culley was arrested in May at Tbilisi International Airport with 12kg of marijuana and 2kg of hashish found in her luggage. She had previously claimed she was subjected to torture to transport the drugs.
Under a plea bargain agreement, her family transferred 500,000 Georgian Lari (£137,000), a common practice in Georgia where over 90% of drug-related crimes are resolved this way. Culley remains in pre-trial detention, with her next hearing scheduled for Monday.
Her mother, Lyanne Kennedy, expressed concern but also noted her daughter’s strength, stating, “She is looking big, pregnant, but she is looking strong.” Culley’s lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, confirmed negotiations were nearing completion and that a technical issue needed resolving, adding that they planned to appeal for a presidential pardon once the plea deal was finalized.