British ‘Drug Mule’ Bella May Culley, 19, Could Be Paid ‘Six-Figure’ Sum Upon Release

In case you missed it: 18-year-old British girl Bella May Culley sparked a massive international search operation last May after going missing in Thailand, only to pop up 4,000 miles away in Georgia where she was busted with 14kg of cannabis in her suitcase at Tbilisi International Airport.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Bella told Tbilisi city court during her first hearing that she’s “pregnant”, which isn’t exactly ideal when you’re looking at 20 years – life imprisonment for international drugs smuggling.

Things have taken a more positive note in recent weeks, however, with Bella’s lawyer managing to arrange a plea bargain that could see the County Durham teenager released from prison in a matter of days. Just one issue with that – the Georgian courts are demanding that Bella’s family pay a fine worth “six figures” in order to make that happen. Which they obviously would, if they had the money handy.

If they were to stump up the cash, it appears that Bella would be able to recuperate it quite quickly. Apparently the Brit could be in line for a “tidy six-figure sum” after her release, with all kinds of morning shows and reality TV programmes set to procure her services.

Chartered Financial Planner and director of Rowley Turton Scott Gallacher told the Daily Star: “She’ll almost certainly make a tidy six-figure sum through exclusives, morning TV and reality shows. You only have to look at Michaella McCollum appearing on Celebrity SAS.

“But it’s a sad indictment of our culture that someone accused – though not convicted – of serious drug trafficking could profit from notoriety. The fact an alleged offender may walk into these paydays says more about what we reward than about her.”

What a result that would be eh? Bella’s family stump up six figures to bail her out, and she repays them almost immediately by doing the talk show circuit and becoming a Z-list British celebrity, turning up on the likes of Big Brother, I’m A Celeb! etc for years to come. A pretty sad state of affairs really, but that’s the world we live in now. A teenage drug mule can become something of a ‘nation’s sweetheart’ and all she has to do is spend 4 or 5 months in a prison in Georgia (which is undoubtedly terrifying, especially for a pregnant teenager, to be fair).

Big ups to Bella’s lawyer Anna Putkaradze who managed to arrange the plea deal. She reckons the fine will be in the region for £100,000, which is the best you can hope for as far as six-figure fines go.

Putkaradze said: “If the prosecution is calculating the fine based on the estimated street value of the drugs in Britain, rather than in Georgia. I would estimate it at around £100,000.”

I’m guessing that being pregnant also played a huge role in the Georgian court’s decision to offer a plea deal. So big up to whoever the daddy is on that one. Hopefully not the same guy who convinced Bella to carry 14kg of cannabis into Georgia in the first place (allegedly).

For the two girls who were recently caught smuggling 35kg of cannabis from New York to Birmingham, click HERE. No plea deal necessary – they were let off with a slap on the wrist.