One is 21, the other is 18. They did not realise mules take biggest risk

A DRUGS mule who got 10 years jail after being caught on her first smuggling trip has a stark warning for the rising numbers of young Britons lured by traffickers.

- NICK SOMMERLAD

Natalie Welsh said the smoothtalking gangs who persuade them to carry a suitcase of drugs on to a plane with promises of easy money are the "best salespeople in the world".

She said they paint a picture of a risk-free trip but that it is a dangerous tissue of lies, as: "The mule is expendable. Nobody cares about them." Natalie spoke out after 18-year-old Bella Culley from Teeside, who says she is pregnant, was arrested on May 11 at Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia, allegedly with 14kg of cannabis after flying from Bangkok.

Two days later South Londoner Charlotte May Lee, 21, flew from the same Thai airport and was held in Sri Lanka accused of having 46kg of the synthetic cannabis 'kush'. She claims it was planted in her luggage.

Thailand is one of the countries from which the National Crime Agency says it has seen an exponential rise in smuggling attempts.

Reality

Officers report seizing 27 tons of cannabis at UK airports last year - up from just two tons in 2022.

The charity Prisoners Abroad reported 43 new cases of Brits held in foreign prisons on drugs charges in the first seven weeks of this year twice the rate of 2024.

Natalie, now 45, said of the two arrested women: "I just feel for them.

"I imagine at the moment they will not be accepting the reality of the situation. I read they are facing up to 20 to 25 years in prison.