THE Brit accused of trying to smuggle drugs worth £1.2m into Sri Lanka wept as she was formally remanded into a top-security “hell” prison today.
Emotional Charlotte May Lee, 21, was told she may not be sentenced for another 12 months.
Tim StewartCharlotte May Lee faces a long stay behind bars before she is sentenced[/caption]
Tim StewartCharlotte wept in court as she was formally remanded in prison in Sri Lanka[/caption]
Police HandoutThe drug stash Charlotte is accused of smuggling[/caption]
The maggot-infested ‘hellhole’ prison where Charlotte faces being locked up
And even then she’s been warned she could face 25 years behind bars in tough maximum security Welikada Prison if convicted of being a drug mule.
After her first court appearance she will no longer be allowed to use her phone or contact her loved ones.
A source told The Sun: “Charlotte is crying a lot. The penny has dropped and she is more aware of her perilous situation.
“The jail is not fit for a rat to live in. And she has been told to get used to it.
“She is a total mess. She hates the food, which is only rice with the occasional hot curry.
“The prison is so full that she has been lying in the corridor on a concrete floor with no pillow or sheet.”
The Sun can reveal a mystery British man was waiting for Charlotte when she arrived on a flight to Colombo from Thailand last Monday.
She was nicked when cops found a record amount of deadly super-strong synthetic cannabinoid Kush.
A source said: “Charlotte had been going on about this man she was madly in love with. She met him in Bangkok. He was then waiting for her on touchdown in Sri Lanka.
“She obviously never got to meet him when she was arrested. Who is this man – the police should be investigating him. We understand he has even been in touch with Charlotte behind bars. We worry she is somehow under his spell.”
Charlotte yesterday claimed the drugs – 25 times more potent than powerful opioid fentanyl – found in her suitcase were “planted” on her.
The part-time beautician, of Chipstead in Surrey said she had “no idea” that there were drugs in her luggage when she left Bangkok.
She claimed: “I had never seen them before. I didn’t expect it all when they pulled me over at the airport. I thought it was going to be filled with all my stuff.
“I had been in Bangkok the night before and had already packed my clothes because my flight was really early.
MoyesCharlotte has been accused of trying to smuggle £1.2million worth of drugs into Sri Lanka[/caption]
Tim StewartCharlotte formerly worked as an air stewardess[/caption]
“So I left my bags in the hotel room and headed for the night out. As they were already packed I didn’t check them again in the morning.”
The young Brit believes the huge amount of illegal substances were planted in her luggage in a planned move by dangerous dealers in Southeast Asia.
And Charlotte, a former TUI stewardess, has now said: “I know who did it.”
Charlotte said the jail shower is just a bucket of water with a broken TV the only activity available.
Another major issue the Brit, from Coulsdon, is facing is eating and keeping clean.
Kush, a highly addictive synthetic drug, has claimed the lives of thousands in West Africa where it first appeared in 2022 – and is spreading globally at an alarming rate.
The dirt-cheap drug is cut with an array of additives including acetone, the opioid tramadol and formalin, a toxic chemical commonly used to preserve bodies in mortuaries.
Charlotte May Lee is in jail in Sri Lanka
Police HandoutBorder cops say they found a large quantity of the strong synthetic cannabinoid Kush in her luggage[/caption]
It comes as a friend of Charlotte’s revealed she is aware of the similar case of Bella Culley – an 18-year-old arrested in Georgia who is also accused of drug smuggling.
However, the two youngsters have never met, and Charlotte “doesn’t know if there is any connection” to her own ordeal.
Shocking images published by customs officials in Sri Lanka show how drugs had been allegedly stuffed into Charlotte’s luggage in large vacuum-sealed bags.
Bella’s alleged stash was also discovered in stacked, airtight packages pointing to a similar-style operation.
And in another twist, the two had individually told their loved ones they planned on meeting a mystery man during their travels.
Bella revealed to her family she was meeting an unknown man in the Philippines who had moved to the country from the North East.
Sri Lanka’s maximum security Welikada Prison is notoriously “hellish”, with 650 women in a ward designed for 150 cons. Riots have erupted due to poor conditions, including the sweltering heat.
Why Brit backpackers are prime targets, Thai cop reveals
Police Lieutenant Colonel Arun Musikim, Deputy Inspector of the Surat Thani province police force, said: “Cases involving British nationals smuggling cannabis have been around for a while.
“There is a lot of cannabis grown on Thailand’s islands in the south because the climate is suitable and it is legal. A lot of gangs are attracted to this.
“There are now various smuggling methods that we have seen. Some carry it themselves, some hire backpackers, and some send it via mail.
“This year, there have been many cases we have intercepted. Most involve British and Malaysian nationals.
“It’s easy for British citizens to travel as they can enter Thailand and return to the UK without needing a visa.
“Most of the smugglers are people hired to carry the cannabis, similar to how tourists might smuggle tax-free goods.
“They’re usually unemployed individuals from the UK. The gangs offer them flights, pocket money and hotel stays, just to come and travel and take a bag back home with them.
“These people often have poor social standing at home and are looking for ways to earn quick money. They find them through friends or on social media.
“Many will go to festivals or parties while they are here, just like they are having a normal trip abroad.
“They are told that it is easy and they will not be caught. Then the amount the organisers can sell the cannabis for in the UK is much higher than it costs in Thailand.
“Police suspect that there are multiple employers and groups receiving the drugs on the other end. The cannabis then enters the UK market.
“We are being vigilant to ensure there are no routes out of the country.”
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