HOLIDAY NIGHTMARE
Brit, 18, who vanished on Thai hols faces LIFE in hellhole ex-Soviet jail accused of smuggling 30lbs of cannabis
The mum told The Sun she had a bad feeling from the start about Bella's trip to Thailand
A BRIT teen reported missing in Thailand has been arrested 4,000 miles away in Georgia accused of smuggling 30 pounds of cannabis into the former Soviet nation.
Bella May Culley, 18, from Teesside, faces life in jail after she was allegedly caught trying to sneak 34 bags of marijuana in her luggage through the capital's main airport.
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Her family raised the alarm during her holiday after she failed to contact anyone since Saturday, despite usually flooding her family with texts, sparking a huge international search operation.
They had no idea that she had even left Thailand and were shocked to learn of her arrest in a different continent.
Authorities in Georgia said "an 18-year-old woman from Billingham has been arrested there on suspicion of drugs offences and that she remains in their custody".
The country's interior ministry said she faces "up to 20 years - or life imprisonment" as they denied the teen bail, saying she posed a flight risk.
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They also released footage showing the teen in handcuffs being marched towards the Central Criminal Police Department in Tbilisi yesterday.
It came hours after Bella's family issued a desperate plea for help finding the teen.
Mum Lyanne Kennedy, 44, told The Sun: “Bella showed her dad an itinerary that said she should arrive back in Manchester on Saturday - but there’s no sign of her.
“We’re really concerned.
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“This is completely out of character."
Bella recently completed an access course at Middlesbrough College and hopes to become a nurse - but first wanted to go travelling.
Lyanne said: “Her dad lives in Vietnam, so she's always wanted to see Asia.
“She loves all the touristy stuff, like releasing turtles."
Bella flew out to the Philippines with a friend - and Thailand wasn't even on the agenda to begin with.
But when her pal went to Ibiza, she decided to head in a different direction because "she doesn't drink that much and isn't really into the party lifestyle".
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Instead, Bella travelled on to Thailand around May 3.
Lyanne said: "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."
No one had spoken to Bella since Friday, although she did send her mum a message on Saturday promising to video call her.
Lyanne said: “I noticed on Saturday evening that she hadn't called as she promised.
“On Sunday, I sent a message to her WhatsApp - and could see that her phone wasn't receiving it.
“The messages still aren't getting through.
“Even if she’s lost her phone, she’d remember one of our numbers and call - and you can log into your social media on anyone’s phone these days."
Bella's dad Neil rushed to Bangkok to hunt for his daughter.
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He went straight to the police, who told him to contact the immigration bureau to establish where Bella was last staying.
Lyanne said: “When she stopped answering messages I assumed it was because she was flying back to surprise me. But then nothing."
The family got in touch with the airline, who revealed that Bella had made a request for a ticket but the payment never went through.
Lyanne added: “We think she was last near Pattaya, and was supposed to fly back from Bangkok via Frankfurt according to the itinerary.
“But I never heard anything about picking her up."
The mum had put out an urgent appeal on Facebook, which has been shared hundreds of times.
The post read: “Information is now urgently needed on the last known communication with Bella May.
“The police are now involved over here and in Thailand.
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“Anything could help even if you think it isn't relevant, it could be!
“Anyone with any info can you please contact the police by dialling 101 and quoting incident No. CVP-25-084859."
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