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LEVI-APRIL WHALLEY, WHO RECENTLY AVOIDED JAIL TIME FOR ATTEMPTING TO SMUGGLE CANNABIS INTO THE UK, BELIEVES BELLA CULLEY AND CHARLOTTE LEE ARE 'VICTIMS' ADDING THEY SHOULD
'TELL THE TRUTH AND BE HONEST' 08:05, 29 May 2025 A glammed-up British mum who was busted smuggling drugs from New York City with her mate has shared a word of wisdom for alleged
drug mules Bella May Culley and Charlotte May Lee, currently in limbo awaiting trial overseas. Sophie Bannister, 30, and Levi-April Whalley, 31, from Blackburn, told Border Force officers
they went on a three-day shopping blitz in New York City when they were pulled up at Birmingham International Airport in 2023. But their bags were searched and over 35kg of cannabis - with a
street value greater than £160,000 - was found. When 70 heat-sealed parcels were discovered stashed in their luggage, a flustered Whalley claimed the packages were stuffed with watches.
However, the truth soon came to light as text messages exposed the high-flying mates as key players in a grand scheme to ferry drugs into the UK. Both women broke down in tears when they
were slapped with 18-month suspended sentences at Preston Crown Court last month. Now, Levi has broken her silence on the recent surge of British women being accused of drug smuggling
abroad, doling out advice to Bella May Culley and Charlotte May Lee, who are grappling with the grim reality of international drug smuggling charges. After being arrested overseas,
they're now languishing behind bars in prisons likened to 'hell', reports the Mirror. Bella, an 18-year-old nursing student from Teesside, vanished in Thailand only to
reappear in Georgia, arrested for allegedly trying to sneak a whopping 14kg of cannabis into the country. The teen, who dropped the bombshell claim that she's pregnant in court, is
being held at Tbilisi Prison Number 5, notorious for its grim conditions and overflowing sewage, facing life behind bars. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Charlotte May Lee, a former TUI air hostess
from Coulsdon, was arrested in Sri Lanka. The authorities nabbed her with two cases allegedly packed with synthetic cannabis valued at £1.2 million. She now faces a possible 20 to 25-year
stretch in jail. Though there's no suggestion the two women are connected, they're both trapped in nightmarish scenarios – miles from Britain, isolated, and their futures hanging
by a thread. For Levi, their plight hits too close to home. It's a stark warning of the fate she narrowly avoided when the judge let her off with no jail time. "I believe if I was
caught abroad it would have been a complete different outcome for myself," she told the Mirror. "I believe I would have been in the same situation as them. I feel relieved that I
did get caught in the UK looking at them." Levi escaped prison but still labels the whole saga as "torture". She said: "I've had to live with this hanging over me
for 16 months. "Not being able to travel and being suspended at work, having to rebuild my whole life and then also becoming a mother." The new mum suspects there's more than
meets the eye with Bella and Charlotte's predicament, saying: "I highly feel they are victims. "I don't know the ins and outs, but from my own experience, they seem to
have been in similar situations to me - I was just following what my friend was doing and influenced negatively without thinking of consequences due to where I was in my life then."
"I was not in a good place and could say I was somewhat vulnerable at the time. These are two young girls, and I believe that's probably the same situation for them." In
court, it emerged that both Levi and her mate Sophie were susceptible to being taken advantage of because of their personal and financial woes. Yet, Levi is fully aware of the gravity of her
actions. She said: "Just because I had a suspended sentence, should not set a precedent for others to do it. "[This situation] shows that people don't always get the outcome
we had, and should now make people aware of the actual dangers of bringing someone's suitcase back. "If I had a chance to speak to Bella and Charlotte, I would tell them to just to
tell the truth and be honest," she said. "I hope they are OK, and I understand exactly what they are going through. I can imagine how worried they are and really hope the truth
does come out." Article continues below Bella May Culley and Charlotte May Lee both deny allegations of drug trafficking offences. _FOR THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS AND STORIES FROM ACROSS
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