NewsHail
23 May 2025
A British woman has been arrested in Sri Lanka. Police say they found 101 pounds (46 kg) of a drug called kush in her suitcase.
Customs officers took photos with the bags of drugs. They say Charlotte May Lee, 21, from south London, tried to bring the drugs into the country.
Charlotte used to be a flight attendant. She says she didn’t know the drugs were in her suitcase. She believes someone put them there without her knowing.
She is now in a prison near Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital. Her lawyer says she is in contact with her family. If found guilty, she could go to prison for up to 25 years.
A top officer said this was the largest drug find in the airport’s history.
Her lawyer, Sampath Perera, told the BBC that his team visits her every day in prison. They are making sure she is okay.
Charlotte told Mail Online that she had no idea the drugs were in her bag. She said she packed her suitcase in a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. Then she went out and didn’t check the bag again.
She thinks someone put the drugs in her suitcase while she was gone. She said, “I know who did it.”
Charlotte flew to Sri Lanka because her visa in Thailand was about to run out. She wanted to take a short trip before returning.
She says prison conditions are very bad. She has to sleep on a hard concrete floor.
Around the same time, another British woman was arrested. Bella Culley, 18, from Billingham, England, is being held in Georgia. She is also accused of drug crimes.
Bella flew into Tbilisi, Georgia, from the United Arab Emirates on May 10. A few days later, the police said she brought in a large amount of marijuana and hashish.
Sri Lankan customs say they arrested Charlotte based on her travel pattern. They said drugs coming from Bangkok are a growing problem.
If Bella is found guilty, she could get 20 years in jail or even life in prison. Georgia is still looking into where the drugs came from and what she planned to do with them.
