18-year-old Bella Culley had been traveling along the well-known backpacking path through Southeast Asia. She started sharing her journey on social media starting April 28, with her first stop being the Philippines.
She spent time hopping between islands before heading to Thailand on May 3. That was the last her family heard from her until news broke that she had been arrested in Georgia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eastern Europe, thousands of miles from where she was last seen.
At this point, it’s still unclear how or why she ended up traveling all the way from Thailand to Georgia.
Her court-appointed lawyer, Ia Todua, confirmed that Culley didn’t speak during her hearing. She was later transferred to a women-only pre-trial detention center in Rustavi, which is located roughly 30 kilometers from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
Todua said: “She was so clenched, she is a child, in my personal opinion. When she was explained the essence of the accusation she was worried to speak.”
“When we asked her to testify at that moment she decided to choose silence.”
Officials confirmed the drugs were found packed in her bag while she was at Tbilisi International Airport.
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement: “Law enforcement officers, as a result of defendant’s luggage inspection at Tbilisi International Airport, seized a particularly large amount of the narcotic drug marijuana, up to 12 kilograms and 2.068 kg of the narcotic drug hashish as evidence.”
According to officials in Georgia, Culley could be facing a prison sentence of up to 20 years if she is convicted.
In an unexpected twist, Culley had previously posted on TikTok about doing “criminal activities,” which now feels eerily relevant given her current situation.