A YOUNG Brit accused of smuggling £1.2million worth of drugs into Sri Lanka faces being locked up in an overcrowded “hellhole”;; prison infested with rats and maggots.
Charlotte May Lee, 21, last week.
She is accused of smuggling 46kg of the synthetic drug kush in her suitcases.
The part-time beautician is currently being held in a local jail called Negombo while her case proceeds through the .
She is expected to appear in court for the first time tomorrow – but reportedly does not know if she will be remanded formally.
But the former TUI stewardess from south faces horrifying conditions in the maximum security Welikada Prison in the capital Colombo if found guilty, the MailOnline has reported.
“There are 650 of us in the female ward though it was built for 150 people.”;;
A friend told The Sun on Sunday: “She’s been told if convicted, because of the size of the haul, she’s looking at between 20 and 25 years in jail.
“British Embassy staff warned her she’s going nowhere soon.”;;
The infamous Welikada Prison is said to be “hell”;; for female inmates especially.
Its suffocatingly overcrowded cells have seen reports of rats on the loose – and even maggots in the food.
One inmate told Al Jazeera back in 2011: “There are 650 of us in the female ward though it was built for 150 people.”;;
“We are treated as far less than human,”;; another said.
“About 150 of us in a cell designed for 75 people. An open drain infested with rats runs the perimeter of the room.
“Recently, one of the inmates was bitten and had to be rushed to the hospital for an anti-rabies shot.”;;
Welikada Prison was designed to house 1,500 prisoners, but is currently operating at more than double this capacity with some 4,000 inmates, according to the UK government website.
“Inmates do not have separate cells. There are no beds. They are given a mattress to sleep on and are housed in dormitories, which can contain up to 25 inmates,”;; the website adds.
“The dorms can be very hot, as there are no fans and they are often infested with .”;;
The prison has also seen major outbreaks of violence, with a deadly riot rocking the slammer back in 2012.
Some 27 inmates died and more than 40 were injured in the violence.
In 1983, it saw a massacre in which 55 Tamil prisoners were killed by Sinhalese inmates.
Another riot broke out in 2020 over a surge of infections in prisons.
Charlotte is reported to have left for weeks ago, and relatives say she made vague comments about meeting a man there.
She has been accused of two charges – possessing illegal drugs and importing illegal drugs into Sri Lanka.
A loved one said yesterday: “Charlotte was vague before leaving but just said she was going to meet a British guy who can’t come home. They were meeting in Thailand. We’re frantically worried.
“She’d had a nasty split with a boyfriend before leaving the UK and was trying to get back on her feet.”;;
British Embassy officials in Sri Lanka visited Charlotte in jail last Wednesday.
A legal source told the MailOnline: “She was crying a lot and was all on her own. It looked like she didn’t have any idea about what was going on.
“She will either have to pay a fine or she will be sent to Welikada Prison in Colombo.”;;
A friend who spoke to Charlotte said: “She thinks she’s going away for a long time.
“She is scared but talks of becoming very friendly with a prison guard.”;;
It follows the similar case of 18-year-old Bella Culley, over drug smuggling allegations after being reported missing in Thailand.
She faces a gruelling nine-month wait in a brutal ex-Soviet prison as she awaits trial.
Culley previously appeared incourtwhere shesaid she was pregnantandinvoked her right to remain silent.
Charlotte is reportedly “aware”;; of the Bella Culley case but does not know if there is any connection with her own ordeal.
