Drugs trade Alleged mule cases rise as gangs exploit easing of Thai drug laws

Within a day of Bella May Culley being arrested at a Georgian airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 14kg of cannabis, the same fate met another young British woman 3,000 miles away.

- Daniel Boffey

Within a day of Bella May Culley being arrested at a Georgian airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 14kg of cannabis, the same fate met another young British woman 3,000 miles away. As Charlotte May Lee stepped off her flight at Bandaranaike International airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Monday last week, the 21-year-old former cabin attendant was arrested for an alleged attempt to bring in £1.2m worth of a synthetic cannabis strain known as kush in her two suitcases.

Both young women flew alone from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport. A potential link between the two cases looks set to form part of the investigations being carried out by Georgia and Sri Lanka.

The charges facing the women, as suspected mules for organised crime gangs, could hardly be any more serious. If found guilty, Lee, from south London, could face a 25-year term, while anything from 20 years in jail to life imprisonment would be on the cards for 18-year-old Culley, from County Durham, according to prosecutors.

It is, however, the context that will perhaps be most alarming for any parent whose children may be talking of finding adventure in south-east Asia.

Thailand was the first country in Asia to legalise the use and purchase of cannabis leaves in February 2021 and the whole plant in June 2022. The Thai authorities were trying to alleviate the overcrowding in their prisons. The evidence suggests the result has been an opening of the floodgates for international drug smugglers, who regard naive young travellers as easy prey.