Bella Culley walks free! Pregnant British ‘drug mule’ shows baby bump as she leaves Georgian prison alongside emotional family after prosecutors showed her mercy

Pregnant British ‘drug mule’ Bella Culley was spotted sporting a baby bump as she walked free from a Georgia prison after prosecutors granted mercy.

The 19-year-old, who was expected to receive a 2-year prison sentence for drug trafficking, was sentenced at the 11th hour on the grounds of her age, good behavior and expecting a child.

Culley’s mother, Lyanne Kennedy, 44, burst into tears of joy outside the Tbilisi City Court and told reporters: ‘I am very happy, very happy. I know I don’t look like it, but I’m so happy. We’ll need to collect your passport and then we’ll be on our way. ‘Either today or tomorrow.’

After his release, Culley excitedly called his father and told him, “I’m not in prison anymore,” and walked free after his father, paying a large fine.

Niel Culley, who raised £140,000 to free her, was heard responding: “Wahey, that’s amazing” as mum Lyanne Kennedy walked alongside his daughter, holding her hand.

Bella looked visibly pregnant in her purple tracksuit and beige jacket, and her father asked what her plans were while he was out.

Bella replied: ‘We’re walking down, we’ll call you when we get back to the hotel. ‘I love you, dad, bye.’

He looked visibly overwhelmed as reporters gathered outside the court before enlisting his lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, to answer questions on his behalf.

Moments earlier, Judge Giorgi Gelashvili accepted the plea bargain, meaning Culley could be released from Georgia prison and allowed to return to the UK.

Reporters heard Culley let out enthusiastic screams and laughter when the prosecution was informed of the new offer moments before the hearing.

Later, she was beaming with excitement as she signed the paperwork with her mother.

Culley’s belly was seen swollen while walking with her family and talking on the phone with her father.

Reporters heard Culley scream excitedly and laugh as he was told about the U-turn

When asked if he had any complaints about his time in prison, Culley said he had none.

Lyanne and Culley’s father Niel Culley, 49, a charity worker, were last week forced to pay a staggering £140,000 fine to reduce the sentence.

The plea agreement should have seen the teenager jailed for two years and cut by six months of time already served after he was found entering the country with £200,000 worth of cannabis in May.

However, Malkhaz Salakaia, who came to the court in the capital of the Black Sea country this morning, said that there was a last-minute postponement in the defense.

‘He is being released, he is walking around freely,’ he said. He doesn’t know yet.

‘I literally got the information 15 minutes ago and notified his mother, who was about to stop crying.’

Prosecutor Vakhtang Tsalugelashvili said: ‘This was our initiative; We took into account his age, condition and good behavior and he cooperated fully.’

Mr Tsalugelashvili told the court: ‘The plea bargain has been concluded, now we want to appeal to the judge.

‘We ask the judge to find Bella Culley guilty of article 242a of the Georgian penal code and to sentence her to five months and 25 days in prison, as well as a fine of 500,000 GEL.

‘The seized drugs, including his bag, will be destroyed, and his other personal belongings will be returned to him.’

Judge Giorgi Gelashvili asked: ‘Does this mean that the requested period of detention has expired?’ Mr Tsalugelashvili said: ‘Yes, we want him to be released today.’

Malkhaz Salakaia, defending, said: ‘We hope that the judge will agree with the prosecution and that she will be released today and become a mother in calmer, more stable conditions.’

Judge Gelashvili told her there would be no mitigating circumstances if she was caught repeating the offences, and Culley was seen nodding approvingly in her gray blouse.

Asked if he had any complaints about his time in prison, the young man said that he did not have any complaints.

Mr Gelashvili said: ‘The court concludes that the plea bargain between the prosecution, represented by Prosecutor Vakhtang Tsalugelashvili, and the defense, represented by Bella Culley and Malkhaz Salakaia, was reached and deemed satisfactory by the court.

‘The penalty is five months and 24 days and an additional fine of 500,000 Georgian lari. ‘The arrest will be canceled taking into account the time spent in initial detention.’

Culley held on to his lawyer as he left court

The teenager was surrounded by journalists and was released

In the early hours of the morning, Culley’s mother, Lyanne Kennedy, was seen arriving at court today. He and Culley’s father had to pay a £140,000 fine to reduce his sentence.

Bella Culley is set to escape prison in a dramatic U-turn. He was originally scheduled to be sentenced to two years in prison

Culley and his mother hugged in court after the sentence was read. The teenager later said: ‘I never expected this. ‘This is a huge surprise.’

Culley is due to give birth before Christmas after becoming pregnant while touring South East Asia with a man she said was not involved in drug trafficking.

The young girl didn’t even know Georgia was a country when she landed in the capital Tbilisi and was arrested in May.

He insisted a British gang threatened to kill his family if he did not do as he was told, before he was found with £200,000 worth of cannabis in his boot.

Culley claims he was forced to sell the drugs from Thailand to Georgia, burned with a hot iron and shown a video of a beheading by a Thai gang.

He later claimed that he flew to Tbilisi, thinking it was the name of a country, not knowing that 14 kilos of smuggled cargo were hidden in his bags.

This follows a huge increase in the number of backpackers being targeted and groomed by British gangs flocking to Thailand.

The country has recently legalized cannabis, meaning there is a huge illegal trade in cannabis being smuggled into the UK in exchange for huge increases.

They went back to grooming drug mules after the National Crime Agency shut down a plan to ship it to the UK.