A British teenager who went missing while travelling in Thailand has been arrested in Georgia.
Bella May Culley, 18, was last seen in Pattaya, a city in the east of the south-east Asian country.
But on Tuesday, it was revealed she had been arrested thousands of miles away in the country of Georgia, in the Caucasus region.
Cleveland Police said the Georgian authorities said she had been arrested there on suspicion of drug offences and was in custody.
Bella May Culley had posted her trip online
Bella first travelled around the Philippines before going to Thailand, but has now been arrested in Georgia – Facebook
Footage shared by broadcasters in Georgia appeared to show the 18 year-old walking into court in handcuffs.
Customs officers at Georgia’s Tbilisi International Airport discovered her bag to be full of drugs, according to local media reports.
A video showed a suitcase apparently full of drugs, including around a dozen sachets labelled “hash”.
Credit: imedinews
The teenager appeared in court and was remanded in custody.
Her lawyer requested bail, but the judge denied this after the prosecutor raised concerns about her absconding.
Ms Culley could face up to 20 years or even life imprisonment if found guilty.
Credit: imedinews
The family of the teenager, who is from Billingham, Co Durham, had earlier appealed to the public for any information about her whereabouts.
Lyanne Kennedy, Ms Culley’s mother, said her daughter had travelled around the Philippines in April before flying to Thailand on May 3.
“She flew out to the Philippines after Easter with a friend and she was there for three weeks,” Mrs Kennedy told Teesside Live.
“She was posting loads of pictures and then she went to Thailand on about May 3.
“The last message she sent was to me and that was on Saturday at 5.30pm saying she was going to FaceTime me later. That was the last message anyone has received from what we can figure out up to now.”
An image from Georgia shows what are alleged to be drugs
Ms Culley’s father and aunt, Neil and Kerrie Culley, flew to Thailand to try to find her after her family alerted police in Thailand and Britain about her disappearance.
A spokesman for Cleveland Police said on Tuesday: “We have had confirmation from the authorities in Georgia that an 18-year-old woman from Billingham has been arrested there on suspicion of drugs offences and that she remains in their custody.”
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