PREGNANT Brit “mule”; Bella Culley’s drug trial in Georgia has been postponed over “evidence issue”;.
Bella from Billingham, County, appeared at Tbilisi City Court for a brief hearing after she marijuana and the narcotic hashish.
The court heard there were issues surrounding evidence that must be resolved.
Bella’s heartbroken dad, who was present in court, told her to “stay strong”;.
Her next hearing is scheduled for 24 July.
Bella claimed was carried to the airport for her and put in the plane’s hold when she boarded a flight from Bangkok in May.
Her family launched ahunt inafter she vanished on holiday but she4,000 miles away in the European nation.
Then on her first court appearance she.
CCTV footage of Bella was released, which cops say into transporting the £200,000 drug stash.
Major General Cherngron Rimphadee said a few weeks ago: “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 anyofficers and simply exited the country.”;
Thai authorities say Bella’s claims of seeking help from customs staff are “absolutely baseless”;.
Surveillance shows the teen, from Billingham, Teesside, apparently passing calmly through Suvarnabhumi Airport’sautomated gates without raising any red flags.
“There is no evidence whatsoever that any immigration or police officers forced or threatened the suspect to smuggleout of the country,”; Lt. Gen. Choengron said.
“It was a deliberate departure.”;
The footage had reportedly been shared with media outlets in an attempt to debunk Bella’s courtroom testimony in Tblisi, where she claimed she “didn’t want to do this”; and was
Bella’s lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, claimed corrupt Thai police officers were in on the trafficking ring and that when Bella turned to one for help, she realised he was part of the gang.
Salakaia alleged she and her family were
He went on to claim that “They told her: we know the addresses of your parents, we know where your 16-year-old brother is”;, before showing her a video of a person being beheaded.
Thewas also shown a scar on her arm which Salakaia said was inflicted before the suitcase containing the drugs – which she allegedly never touched – was given to her.
But Thai police say it’s all an attempt to wriggle out of punishment.
Officials believe the teen’s high-stakes tale is part of a strategy to secure a lighter sentence in Georgia.
The Georgian prosecution has charged her with “illegally purchasing and storing a particularly large amount of narcotics”; and “illegally importing them into the country”;.
Bella currently faces up to 20 years or even life behind bars if convicted.
The teen, who now claims she is 18 weeks pregnant, was previously seen online bragging about “getting up to criminal activities”; and flashing thick wads of cash.
Thai cops said she would now be blacklisted for entering the country “to commit a drug offence”;, citing a breach of Section 12 of the Immigration Act.
