As two young British women face allegations of drug smuggling overseas, the Mirror speaks with Levi Whalley about her experience with drug smuggling, including her advice for Bella May Coley and Charlotte May Lee
Ex-drug mule Levi Whalley has spoken out after she was handed a suspended sentence for bringing 35kg of cannabis from New York alongside her friend, Sophie Bannister.
This follows the recent cases of two young British women, Bella May Coley and Charlotte May Lee, who are now facing the harsh reality of international drug smuggling charges. After being arrested abroad, they now find themselves at the centre of headlines as they await their fates behind bars in prisons described as ‘hell.’ Both women deny the charges they face.
Bella, an 18-year-old nursing student from Teesside, was first reported missing in Thailand. It later was revealed she’d been arrested in Georgia, where she was allegedly caught attempting to smuggle 14kg of cannabis into the country. During her court appearance, Bella claimed she was pregnant, but chose to exercise her right to remain silent regarding the charges.
She is now being held in Tbilisi Prison Number 5 – a facility reportedly filled with sewage and poor living conditions, and could be facing a life sentence.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Charlotte May Lee, a former TUI air hostess from Coulsdon, was arrested in Sri Lanka after being caught with two suitcases allegedly containing synthetic cannabis worth £1.2 million. The drug, known as kush, is said to contain a highly addictive blend of a number of drugs, chemicals and, shockingly, even human remains. She now faces a possible sentence of 20 to 25 years behind bars.
Although the women are not believed to have any links to each other, they now find themselves in similarly terrifying situations – far from home, alone, and with their futures uncertain.
But for Levi Whalley, the news of their arrests hit differently. Just 16 months ago, she and her close friend Sophie Bannister were caught in the UK while attempting to smuggle drugs. Levi avoided a prison sentence, instead receiving a suspended sentence.
But their situations serve as a reminder for Levi of how her future could have looked if the judge hdan’t spared them prison, “I believe if I was caught abroad this would be a complete different outcome for myself,” she told the Mirror, reflecting on how her fate could have easily mirrored theirs.
She added, “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.”
Although Levi has avoided prison, her life hasn’t been untouched. “I’ve had to live with this hanging over me for 16 months,” she said, describing the toll the experience has taken. “Not being able to travel and being suspended at work, having to rebuild my whole life and then also becoming a mother.”
As someone who’s walked a very similar path, Levi said she sees the deeper story in Bella and Charlotte’s arrests – and it hits close to home.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Levi said she believes the girls were likely victims of pressure and circumstance “I highly feel they are victims,” she said. “I don’t know the ins and outs as I haven’t been following the news. But from my own experience, they were 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.”
She continued: “I was not in a good place and could say I was somewhat vulnerable at the time. These are two young girls, and I highly believe that’s probably the same situation for them.”
Her words carry weight, not just as someone who narrowly avoided prison herself, but as someone who has had to live with the lasting consequences.
“This demonstrates going forward, just because I had a suspended sentence, then this should not set a precedent for others to do it,” she said. “It highlights the awareness that this isn’t always the outcome we had, and should now make people aware of the actual dangers of bringing someone’s suitcase back.”
And if there’s one message she wants people to walk away with, it’s this: “I hope going forward people see the severity of this offence.”
Despite the fear and uncertainty Bella and Charlotte may be facing, Levi empathises with them and hopes they find a way through.
“If I had a chance to speak to them, I would tell them 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.”
Reflecting on how far she’s come, Levi added: “I have learnt going forward in my life to stop hanging around with negative people who bring out the worst in me, and they need to really change their life around from this.”
“We all make mistakes,” she said. “They just need to own up to it, I believe – and hopefully they can eventually move on from this.”
Bella May Coley and Charlotte May Lee both deny committing drug trafficking offences.
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