A British former TUI cabin crew member has been arrested in a Sri Lankan airport after £1.15 million of cannabis was allegedly found in her luggage.
Charlotte May Lee, 21, from Coulsdon, south London, was apprehended at Colombo’s main airport on Monday after disembarking from a flight originating in Bangkok.
According to sources, authorities seized 46kg of kush – a strain of cannabis – as Miss Lee arrived from Thailand on a SriLankan Airlines flight.
Pictures from the scene show six officers in the airport standing over two large suitcases and dozens of large vacuum packed bags of the drug.
Customs Narcotics Control Unit officials at the airport reported that this is the largest quantity of Kush ever discovered at the international hub since its establishment.
Sources close to the investigation said the ‘massive consignment’ is worth around 460million Sri Lankan rupees.
The confiscated drugs, allegedly tightly packed in luggage, were assumed to be destined for affluent local purchasers.
Miss Lee has been remanded to custody while the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) investigates the case and potential legal action, according to local reporters.
Charlotte May Lee, 21, from Coulsdon, south London, has been arrested in a Sri Lankan airport after £1.15 million of cannabis was allegedly found in her luggage
The former TUI cabin crew member was detained at the main airport in the country’s capital Colombo on Monday after arriving from a flight from Bangkok
A photograph on Miss Lee’s social media shows her in her former job as a TUI stewardess
Meanwhile the Foreign Office in the UK has confirmed that it is supporting a British woman who has been arrested in Sri Lanka and is in contact with her family, as well as local authorities.
According to Miss Lee’s friends she has posted on Snapchat claiming she was being held at a police headquarters in Sri Lanka.
One woman, close to the cabin crew member turned lash technician, said that she was shocked when she heard the allegation as Miss Lee was a ‘nice girl’.
The friend, who asked to remain anonymous, said: ‘I couldn’t believe it. She’s a hard worker and a grafter.’
‘We are shocked. I am in total shock. She’s a nice girl,’ she added.
‘There were no red flags or anything,’ another friend said.
‘We saw clips of the arrest and we could hear an English woman, who sounded very much like Charlotte in the background.’
Miss Lee had previously worked as a cabin crew member for TUI, yet friends have said this was only a ‘summer contract’.
The Foreign Office in the UK has confirmed that it is supporting a British woman who has been arrested in Sri Lanka and is in contact with her family, as well as local authorities
According to Miss Lee’s friends she has posted on Snapchat claiming she was being held at a police headquarters in Sri Lanka
Miss Lee had previously worked as a cabin crew member for TUI, yet friends have said this was only a ‘summer contract’
Following a recent holiday, Miss Lee is said to have returned to Coulsdon, telling mates that she ‘loved Thailand and wanted to work out there’
Her social media accounts show her appearing to have a great time working for the travel company, posing in her stewardess uniform and even in the cockpit of one of the planes.
Since then, the young woman who grew up in the South London town, was training to become a lash technician.
Other photos shared on her social media show Miss Lee living the typical life of a young woman in her early twenties – out drinking at the pub with friends or dancing at nightclubs.
Miss Lee, according to friends, first flew out to Thailand in April to celebrate her 21st birthday with her older sister who was meeting her from Australia, where she lives.
Following the holiday, Miss Lee is said to have returned to Coulsdon, telling mates that she ‘loved Thailand and wanted to work out there’.
She mentioned around four weeks ago that ‘she had a job on a boat’ in the south-east Asian country, but according to her friend did not mention any immediate plans of returning.
Yet last week, the young woman began posting pictures again of beautiful white sand beaches and selfies of her partying abroad.
And on Monday, the day of her arrest, she had posted a TikTok of herself on a plane, wearing a facemask, as she flew over a pretty island. She tagged the location of the video as Bangkok.
Just hours before her arrest, Miss Lee had posted a TikTok of herself on a plane, wearing a facemask, as she flew over a pretty island. The location of the video was tagged as Bangkok
Her social media accounts show Miss Lee appearing to enjoy working for the travel company
Images posted on her social media even show the cockpit of one of the planes she worked on
Days later, after rumours about Miss Lee’s arrest began in Coulson, she is said to have sent some friends a Snapchat from Sri Lankan custody, briefly filming herself and assuring them she was okay.
The friend, who spoke to MailOnline, added: ‘No one has heard from her in a few days. Her Snapchat did go live at one point, but whether it was her or the police we don’t know.
‘She went travelling to Thailand for her 21st birthday and her sister paid for her to go out there as her birthday present. That was in April at some point.
‘She was back here [in the UK] in May and then she was off again. But she did not mention she was going away, nothing was said. And previously she would have said [about her plans].
‘When she got back the first time she did say she loved it. I asked her what about going to Australia, as there’s nothing here, and she said she should look into it one day. But that was it.’
The incident comes just days after a British teenager was arrested in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi after allegedly arriving from Thailand carrying 14kg of cannabis in her luggage.
Bella May Culley, 18, is now facing life in prison in the former Soviet country after being accused of illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics.
The youngster from Billingham, Country Durham, was believed to have gone missing in Thailand before she was detained 3,700 miles away at Tbilisi International Airport on the charges.
Miss Lee has been remanded to custody while the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) investigates the case and potential legal action, according to local media
The incident comes just days after British teenager Bella May Culley, 18, was arrested in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi after allegedly arriving from Thailand carrying 14kg of cannabis in her luggage
Questions remain as to how exactly Culley ended up in Georgia – and what her steps were in the lead up to her eventual arrest
Miss Culley was caught entering Georgia with £200,000 worth of cannabis
Her lawyer said Miss Culley, who claimed in court she was pregnant, ended up in the eastern European country ‘without knowing what she was doing’ and was ‘visibly shaken’ when she learned her fate’
Miss Culley, who has been taken into court, now faces a minimum term of 15 years but could be jailed for life if found guilty.
Her lawyer said the teen, who claimed in court she was pregnant, ended up in the eastern European country ‘without knowing what she was doing’ and was ‘visibly shaken’ when she learned her fate’.
The teen was travelling around the Philippines and Thailand before she boarded the flight to Georgia from Bangkok via Sharjah, UAE. Miss Culley has yet to reveal to her lawyer how she came to be in possession of the narcotics.
She first appeared in Tbilisi city court on May 13 which was broadcast locally and word finally reached her family the following day.
Her father Niel, 49, who had flown out to Thailand to search for her, flew to Georgia with auntie Kerrie, 51. But they have been cruelly blocked from visiting her by local bureaucracy.
It is hoped they will finally have an emotional reunion in prison next week.
Miss Culley has been remanded in custody until her next appearance on July 1.
The British Embassy in Tbilisi told RFE: ‘We are assisting the family of the British woman detained in Georgia and are also in contact with the local authorities.’
The FCDO said with regards to Miss Lee’s case: ‘We are supporting a British woman who has been arrested in Sri Lanka and are in contact with her family and the local authorities.’
