TBILISI, November 4 – A Georgian court has released 19-year-old British national Bella May Culley, who was convicted of smuggling large quantities of marijuana and hashish into the country, after she reached a plea deal with prosecutors.
Culley, who is 35 weeks pregnant, was sentenced to five months and 24 days in prison, time she had already served since her arrest at Tbilisi International Airport earlier this year.
Judge Giorgi Gelashvili of Tbilisi City Court approved the deal, which recognizes Culley’s guilt but allows her release on humanitarian grounds. The deal includes payment of an amount of 500,000 lari (about USD 180,000). Without the plea bargain, she faced between 15 and 20 years, or even life imprisonment, for importing narcotics.
Culley was detained after customs officers at Tbilisi Airport discovered 12 kilograms of marijuana and 2 kilograms of hashish hidden in her luggage. She had previously claimed she was coerced into carrying the drugs.
Prosecutor Vakhtang Tsalughelashvili explained the reasoning behind the agreement, saying the prosecution considered Kali’s age, her cooperation with investigators, and her pregnancy. “After she admitted her guilt and agreed to cooperate, her defense requested a plea bargain,” he told journalists. “We reviewed the request, taking into account her confession, her age, and her condition. The sides agreed on a reduced sentence.”
When asked to clarify what “cooperation” entailed, the prosecutor declined to reveal details but confirmed that Culley had provided information about her contacts. “She named individuals involved, and a separate investigation has been launched,” he said, adding that Georgian authorities are pursuing suspects believed to have supplied or instructed her to transport the drugs.
Tsalughelashvili stressed that Georgia maintains a strict stance on narcotics trafficking but that each plea case is considered individually. “Of course, our approach to drug-related crimes remains tough,” he said. “However, plea agreements depend on specific circumstances.”
The case drew attention both for the severity of the charges and for Georgia’s tough anti-drug laws, which have led to lengthy prison terms even for non-violent offenders. The decision to release a foreign citizen, particularly one pregnant and facing life imprisonment, marks a rare instance of leniency in the country’s otherwise rigid judicial approach to narcotics.
