British Bella May Culley 18, Pattaya Thailand 10th May

[MelmothTheLost]

A bit of background to Billingham and the wider Teesside area for those unfamiliar with it.

Teesside used to be a centre for iron and steel, chemicals (ICI started at Billingham), heavy engineering (most of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was manufactured there before being shipped down under for assembly) and shipbuilding. Most of these started to decline in the 1960s and 1970s when these industries, using old and out of date technology and manufacturing, could not compete with those in the Far East with much lower costs.

The area has never really recovered, despite various government and other initiatives over the decades, and is in effect rust belt. There are jobs, but not the skilled and well paid jobs of the past, and unemployment remains well above the national average. Long term, even generational unemployment, is rife.

In short, it's the sort of area where amoral young people might easily be tempted by get rich quick schemes, though this particular one also seems to have been planning a career in nursing.

 

[wtiger]

play silly games, win silly prizes!

 

[Skigh]

A bit of background to Billingham and the wider Teesside area for those unfamiliar with it.

Teesside used to be a centre for iron and steel, chemicals (ICI started at Billingham), heavy engineering (most of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was manufactured there before being shipped down under for assembly) and shipbuilding. Most of these started to decline in the 1960s and 1970s when these industries, using old and out of date technology and manufacturing, could not compete with those in the Far East with much lower costs.

The area has never really recovered, despite various government and other initiatives over the decades, and is in effect rust belt. There are jobs, but not the skilled and well paid jobs of the past, and unemployment remains well above the national average. Long term, even generational unemployment, is rife.

In short, it's the sort of area where amoral young people might easily be tempted by get rich quick schemes, though this particular one also seems to have been planning a career in nursing.

Even more stupid of her to throw away the opportunity to get a qualification which would enable her to have a career and full time employment.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Even more stupid of her to throw away the opportunity to get a qualification which would enable her to have a career and full time employment.

Agreed. A British nursing qualification could have taken her just about anywhere in the world.

 

[Sarahlou]

A British student who was arrested in Georgia for allegedly smuggling 14 kilos (30lbs) of cannabis into the former Soviet state has told a court she is pregnant.

The teenager took to the stand to announce that she was pregnant in a hearing yesterday at Tbilisi city court, before adding she would reserve the right to remain silent.

She will now undergo a medical examination where doctors will assess the veracity of her claims.

Brit student detained on drugs charges in Georgia says she is pregnant

'Terrified' Bella May Culley, 18, faces being caged in an overcrowded ex-Soviet jail after being arrested on drug smuggling charges. She told a court that she was pregnant and refused to answer questions

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Lucy6226]

A British student who was arrested in Georgia for allegedly smuggling 14 kilos (30lbs) of cannabis into the former Soviet state has told a court she is pregnant.

The teenager took to the stand to announce that she was pregnant in a hearing yesterday at Tbilisi city court, before adding she would reserve the right to remain silent.

She will now undergo a medical examination where doctors will assess the veracity of her claims.

Brit student detained on drugs charges in Georgia says she is pregnant

'Terrified' Bella May Culley, 18, faces being caged in an overcrowded ex-Soviet jail after being arrested on drug smuggling charges. She told a court that she was pregnant and refused to answer questions

www.dailymail.co.uk

Honestly, she better had be, I can't stand people that lie about pregnancy. I kinda expect she is just digging that hole deeper though

 

[Sarahlou]

Honestly, she better had be, I can't stand people that lie about pregnancy. I kinda expect she is just digging that hole deeper though

I know what you mean. I actually hope she isn't though, for the (potential) baby's sake.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Wow, three pages in and this is a twisty turny one. When are these kids going to realise taking a free trip is a really bad idea! And to Georgia, of all places. Stupid is as stupid does.

 

[MollyHarps]

Judging by her social media posts I have no doubt her family were well aware what she was up to.

I now have zero sympathy for them.. it’s not like she kept it secret is it.

 

[Skigh]

Judging by her social media posts I have no doubt her family were well aware what she was up to.

I now have zero sympathy for them.. it’s not like she kept it secret is it.

I also have zero sympathy. Her parents must have been aware of how much money their daughter had and whether it was sufficient to fund long distance holidays.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Wow, three pages in and this is a twisty turny one. When are these kids going to realise taking a free trip is a really bad idea! And to Georgia, of all places. Stupid is as stupid does.

Indeed. There has been a steady stream of these cases reported in the UK media over the past 10 years or more, such that I've been wondering whether this is a specifically UK phenomenon or whether there are similar cases of young Germans, Danes or whatever reported in the media in those countries. Is there something specifically "wrong" with young British citizens, and young British women in particular?

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1922555022312616134

 

[Dotta]

And
according to earlier reports she was
"A future nurse"???

Huh?

 

[Dotta]

Also,

Even medicines are risky to bring to this country.

Georgia has strict regulations regarding bringing medicines by visitors.
All medicines must be carried in hand luggage. Georgian border guards are very strict in this regard.
There is an absolute ban on bringing medicines containing codeine or pseudoephedrine.

To bring drugs there???

Are some people really that naive?

Wakacje z Oletravel.pl, wczasy Grecja, Turcja, Hiszpania

Ograniczenia w wwożeniu leków do Gruzji. Gruzja przywóz leków przez turystę.

oletravel.pl

 

[Dotta]

Ummm....

She can always be exchanged as in this case with American sports woman arrested in Russia for smuggling cannabis.

She was swapped for Russian arms dealer

Viktor Bout–Brittney Griner prisoner exchange - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[ch_13]

Ummm....

She can always be exchanged as in this case with American sports woman arrested in Russia for smuggling cannabis.

She was swapped for Russian arms dealer

Viktor Bout–Brittney Griner prisoner exchange - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

I don't think this is the same thing. Griner was arrested for having a tiny amount of hash oil for vaping and she was widely thought to be given a long sentence as a political ploy. She was stupid but the sentence was disproportionate compared to what a Russian citizen would have received for the same crime. (She was sentenced to nine years, but the standard term is just 15 days.)

Culley isn't a political prisoner. She was a drug mule carrying 30 lbs of cannabis. She hasn't been tried yet, but Georgia is a democratic republic and I believe that whatever sentence she receives will be in accord with the nation's laws. There's no reason for the UK to do a prisoner swap for a garden-variety criminal.

<modsnip>

 

[Dotta]

I don't think this is the same thing. Griner was arrested for having a tiny amount of hash oil for vaping and she was widely thought to be given a long sentence as a political ploy. She was stupid but the sentence was disproportionate compared to what a Russian citizen would have received for the same crime.

Culley isn't a political prisoner. She was a drug mule carrying 30 lbs of cannabis. She hasn't been tried yet, but Georgia is a democratic republic and I believe that whatever sentence she receives will be in accord with the nation's laws.There's no reason for the UK to do a prisoner swap for a garden-variety criminal.

<modsnip>

<modsnip: Quoted post was modsnipped>

I honestly wish this woman isn't pregnant.
Poor tiny creature contaminated by drugs even before being born.

Although
I suspect this hypothetical child might be her "ticket" to freedom.

JMO

 

[Skigh]

I don't think this is the same thing. Griner was arrested for having a tiny amount of hash oil for vaping and she was widely thought to be given a long sentence as a political ploy. She was stupid but the sentence was disproportionate compared to what a Russian citizen would have received for the same crime. (She was sentenced to nine years, but the standard term is just 15 days.)

Culley isn't a political prisoner. She was a drug mule carrying 30 lbs of cannabis. She hasn't been tried yet, but Georgia is a democratic republic and I believe that whatever sentence she receives will be in accord with the nation's laws. There's no reason for the UK to do a prisoner swap for a garden-variety criminal.

<modsnip>

I do not think many people have any sympathy for her ,especially after seeing her tick tock.

 

[CityKid]

Ummm....

She can always be exchanged as in this case with American sports woman arrested in Russia for smuggling cannabis.

She was swapped for Russian arms dealer

Viktor Bout–Brittney Griner prisoner exchange - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

No comparison. Brittney Griner had 0.7 grams of hash oil in two personal-use vapes. Per this link, "In Russia, cannabis is illegal. An individual possessing less than 6 grams of cannabis or two grams of hash can be fined or jailed for up to 15 days." She was sentenced to nine years in prison, not 15 days. She was not smuggling 0.7 grams of hash oil. She was not paid to be a drug mule.

What is hashish oil and how did it land Brittney Griner in a Russian jail?

Brittney Griner was finally released on Thursday 8 December after 10 months in Russian detention

www.independent.co.uk

 

[MollyHarps]

Ummm....

She can always be exchanged as in this case with American sports woman arrested in Russia for smuggling cannabis.

She was swapped for Russian arms dealer

Viktor Bout–Brittney Griner prisoner exchange - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

This is going to be a charge of supplying its very different.

She will get at least 4 years inside IMO probably more with the case getting media attention (they’ll want it as a deterrent)

PS - it’s a good job this isn’t a missing persons case in reality as she’d never be found - I’ve never seen somebody look so different in their real life photos compared to their filtered ones.