DRUGS arrest teen Bella Culley’s family and police were last night desperate to trace a mystery man she met in the Far East before she was caught with a stash of cannabis 4,000 miles away.
Student nurse Bella, 18, in the Philippines who had moved to the country from the North East.
The backpacker’s social media went on to show her clearly in the company of a male stranger – but he was never clearly pictured or named.
Family members revealed yesterday from the north west of before being reported missing on Saturday.
Her family then joined a frantic search before she was held on arrival at the airport in Georgian capital Tbilisi with a suitcase stuffed with more than two stones of and hashish.
Bella from Billingham, Country now as her distraught family said they were convinced she was led astray.
Bella’s Georgian lawyer Ia Todua told The Sun last night that the youngster was shocked when she learned she faced life in prison and “didn’t know what she was doing.”;;
Ms Todua said: “When I explained to her the consequences – that she could be sentenced to 15-20 years in prison or life – she was visibly shaken.
“My impression was that she ended up in Georgia without even knowing what she was doing.”;;
She has also stunned her family further by announcing at her first court appearance on Wednesday that she was pregnant.
Her grandad William Culley, 80, revealed yesterday that she appears to have spent most of March in but also spent time in the Philippines with a man called “Ross or Russ.”;;.
Video clips and snaps show the bubbly student holding onto a man as she rides pillion on a scooter and another shows her a cannabis spliff.
Another on shows her joking about : “Don’t care if we on the run baby as long as I’m next to u.”;;
But Bella’s male companion’s face never appears in the posts and he is never tagged – and only his silhouette is seen.
Mr Culley said: “She went to the Philippines to see somebody, a lad there, who she used to go out with a couple of years ago, who was working out there.
“She said, ‘I’m going on my own, but I’m meeting Ross out there. Or Russ, I’m not sure what his name is.
“He was working out there for his father’s company or something – but now I wonder if what she told me was true.”;;
Bella has now submitted a formal request for her father and aunt to be allowed to visit her in prison – which could take up to five working days to be processed.
Ms Todua revealed that Bella had flown in with the weighty cannabis and hashish stash in separate packets crammed into a hold bag on a flight from Thailand via Sharjah in the UAE.
She added that her father Niel and aunt Kerrie had remained “calm”;; as the teenagers plight was explained having spoken to British Embassy officials.
Ms Todua said she will next visit her client next week while her relatives are still anxiously waiting for a chance to see her.
She said: “Bella has written a letter to the authorities asking them to allow her father to visit, buy they have not yet responded.
“They might respond tomorrow so he can go in, but they have up to five days to respond.
“Bella has the right to demand a short term visit from her family of up to one hour.
“They would meet in a room, there would be no glass separating them.”;;
Bella’s father and aunt were seen leaving the lawyer’s looking upset and were being supported by UK embassy staff.
A family friend of Bella claimed the teenager had been “completely exploited”;; after falling in with British drug dealers while backpacking.
They said: “I’d put on them being drug runners. There was a lad from Darlington she was with too. He’s a drug runner – I know he is.
“This is totally out of character for her. I know, because she’s a close friend of my daughter.
“She’s just a normal 18-year-old. She’s not some hardened criminal.
“To then suddenly go from the Philippines to Thailand seems strange to me. Her dad’s in bits. Her family’s in bits. She’s a victim.”;;
Bella’s father Niel – who lives in but searched for her in Thailand after she vanished – has flown to Tbilisi but his attempts to see her in jail were blocked by red tape yesterday.
He had hoped for an emotional heart-to-heart at the grim No5 Women’s Penitentiary on the outskirts of the city but was told essential paperwork had not been signed.
Mr Culley, 49, arrived in Georgian capital Tbilisi seeking answers as family members told how he was suffering “every parent’s worst nightmare.”;;
He was being supported by his sister, Kellie Culley while Bella’s mum Lyanne Kennedy – who is estranged from Niel – awaited news in the UK.
Mr Culley met British consular officials and his local lawyer Ia Todua in Tbilisi yesterday but declined to comment.
Legal sources said he was “hopeful”;; of a meeting today but after Bella was required to submit a formal request to authorities to allow him to visit.
But it could take as long as five days for the penitentiary’s director to sign papers to authorise their emotional reunion.
Bella declined to comment on the offences at a court appearance on Wednesday and spoke only to confirm tearfully that she was pregnant.
Georgian rules forbid relatives from entering jails to see remand prisoners unless they have a lawyer present with signed documents.
Bella’s grandad said he had been instructed by Niel to sell a UK property to raise money to pay defence costs.
Bella appeared in court in Tbilisi after she was detained at the city’s airport on suspicion of importing 14kg – 31lbs – of cannabis. Police were believed to have acted on a tip-off.
Local sources said a border check revealed “34 hermetically sealed packages containing marijuana were found in the passenger’s bag, as well as 20 packages of hashish”;;.
She faces charges of illegally purchasing and storing narcotics, illegally purchasing and storing the narcotic drug marijuana, and illegally importing it into Georgia and is due back in court on July 1.
Unexplained records have emerged revealing Bella’s apparent business links to the Far East – with her listed as the director of at least two companies with Chinese ties.
Family members in the UK last night appealed to online supporters not to send cash to pages online, insisting they had not requested donations.
They shared a message amid their ongoing ordeal, warning against unauthorised fundraisers circulating online.
The message, shared on Facebook by cousin Claire Taylorson, read: “Please be aware that a GoFundMe has been set up. Bella’s family do not want any campaigns such as GoFundMe, and have certainly not asked for any financial help in this form.”;;
It continued: “Please respect the family and the difficulties that they are facing.
“No parents ever want to find themselves in this situation, and they are going through the worst time of their lives right now and are at the start of an extremely difficult journey.
“Speculation and rumours are making it harder to navigate through this nightmare.”;;
