A 19-year-old British woman, Bella Culley, who was detained in Georgia on drug trafficking charges, has returned to the UK after being released from prison. Bella, who is now pregnant, arrived in the country after flying from Georgia, where she had been imprisoned for several months. She was accompanied by her mother, who was seen pushing the same suitcase that had been seized by Georgian authorities containing £200,000 worth of cannabis.
Upon their arrival, Bella and her mother embraced their loved ones before being escorted away by armed police to avoid the media. Bella flew back to the UK on an EasyJet flight from Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, after spending nearly six months incarcerated there. The duo checked in for their flight just 55 minutes before departure, narrowly avoiding missing it.
Reportedly, they were the last passengers to check in and were seen rushing into the airport together. Bella, a trainee nurse from Teesside, was unexpectedly released from prison earlier in the week, after potentially facing a lengthy sentence. She was seen walking with her family, and expressed gratitude to the court upon her release.
In an interview with the Mirror, Bella described her release as a “huge surprise” and expressed her astonishment at the turn of events. Her first public comments after leaving prison were about her appearance and the presence of cameras. She was overheard saying she felt awful and remarked on the media attention.
During a phone call with her father, Bella joyfully exclaimed that she was no longer in jail, to which her father responded with excitement. Her mother, visibly emotional, expressed her happiness and indicated their imminent departure plans.