Pregnant Brit 'drug mule' Bella Culley jailed for 18 months after family fails to pay massive £215,000 fine
Culley had previously faced life in prison after pleading guilty to smuggling the illicit substances into the ex-Soviet state
Pregnant British drug mule Bella Culley will be forced to give birth inside a Georgian jail after her family failed to pay a massive fine in exchange for her freedom.
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Culley, aged just 19, discovered on Tuesday she will serve 18 months in prison despite her family paying nearly £140,000 in fines.
The teenager was first reported missing in Thailand by her family, before she was found in Georgia, accused of smuggling in about 14kg of cannabis and hashish.
Culley had previously faced life in prison after pleading guilty to smuggling the illicit substances into the ex-Soviet state.
Read more: Thai police dispute Bella Culley’s drug torture claims as new CCTV footage released
Her family were given until today, October 28, to stump up a massive £215,000 in exchange for her freedom.
However, despite raising almost £140,000, the Culley family fell well short.
However, as part of a plea deal, Culley will now spend just two years behind bars, instead of a proposed 20.
The sentence is expected to be reduced by five months, which means she could be free in 18 months.
When pleading guilty, the teen asked her lawyer: “Will I be able to take the baby with me if I go back to jail?”
Malkhaz Salakaia responded: ” Nobody is going to take the baby away from you.”
Speaking after the teen pled guilty, prosecutor Vakhtang Tsalugelashvili told Tbilisi City Court: “The plea bargain has been reached, our conditions have been met – two years of imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 Georgian Lari.”
Mr Salakaia added: “I can confirm. All relevant parties have been informed as well. We would like to ask the judge to schedule one final hearing to pass the final verdict.
“She pleaded guilty, fully cooperated with the investigation, and the plea bargain has just been reached. So we would like to ask the judge to release her on bail, given her advanced pregnancy.”
This was rejected by the judge, who said there were no legal grounds for a woman to be set free simply for being pregnant.
Culley was seen waving to her mother as she was led away from court today.