Thai police dispute Bella Culley’s drug torture claims as new CCTV footage released
Thai police are rubbishing claims that British teen Bella Culley was tortured into trafficking drugs from Thailand as new CCTV footage shows her 'calmly' walking through passport control alone.
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Bella May Culley, 18, faces life behind bars after being arrested earlier this year for allegedly taking cannabis into Georgia from Thailand.
Last week, Miss Culley appeared at a Tbilisi court where she cried as she told the court she did not want to carry drugs.
Miss Culley's lawyer said she had been threatened with a hot iron to force her into trafficking 12kg of marijuana and 2kg of hashish.
However, Lieutenant General Choengron Rimpadee said "there is absolutely no factual basis to her claims" while presenting airport CCTV footage showing Bella walking through passport control at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Read more: Brit teen 'drug mule' Bella Culley cries in court saying she was ‘forced by torture’
In court previously, Miss Culley said: “I didn’t want to do this. I was forced by torture. I just wanted to travel. I study at the university… to become a nurse. "All I wanted to do was to travel and this happened to me. I’m clean - I had nothing in my blood test. I wanted to make my family proud.”
However, Mr Rimpadee said: "There is no evidence whatsoever that any immigration or police officers forced or threatened the suspect to smuggle drugs out of the country."
Miss Culley is also 18 weeks pregnant.
Her lawyer, Mr Malkhaz Salakaia, said the teenager was not aware of what was in her luggage and she had allegedly tried to approach a policeman for help but he was part of the criminal group too.
He said: "She was instructed to fly to Georgia – she did not even know where Georgia was located geographically."
In the courtroom Miss Culley stood in front of the judge and showed her right wrist which had a scar on it.
Mr Salakaia claimed Miss Culley was told she would be met by people in Tbilisi airport but she was instead intercepted by a customs officer.
Miss Culley was detained for 52 days while prosecutors investigated the origins of 12kg of marijuana and 2kg of hashish found in her travel bag.
Judge Lela Kalichenko has denied her bail, with the next hearing scheduled for July 10.