Ex-British air hostess busted in Sri Lanka over 67k baht drug stash
Friends stunned as 21 year old is accused of smuggling record cannabis haul from Thailand
An ex-British air hostess has been busted in Sri Lanka over a massive £1.5 million (66.5 million baht) cannabis haul, just days after another young Brit was arrested for a similar smuggling run from Thailand.
Charlotte May Lee, from Coulsdon in South London, was arrested at Colombo Airport, Monday, May 12, after touching down on a flight from Bangkok. Customs officers say they found 46 kilogramme of high-grade Kush cannabis stuffed inside her luggage, the largest ever Kush bust at the capital’s airport.
Photos from the scene show six officers standing over dozens of vacuum-packed bags of the potent drug, which officials claim was destined for “high-end local buyers.”
Sri Lankan officials estimate the stash is worth 460 million rupees (roughly £1.5 million) and described it as a “massive consignment.”
Lee, a former TUI cabin crew worker turned lash technician, has been remanded in custody while Sri Lanka’s Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) carries out further investigations.
The UK’s Foreign Office has confirmed it is supporting the 21 year old woman and has contacted her family and Sri Lankan officials.
Lee’s mates have spoken of their disbelief at the arrest, with one close friend saying: “I couldn’t believe it. She’s a hard worker and a grafter.
“She’s a nice girl. We’re in total shock.”
Another friend said: “There were no red flags or anything. We saw clips of the arrest and we could hear an English woman, who sounded very much like Charlotte, in the background.”
Friends say Lee had been celebrating her 21st birthday in Thailand in April, where she met up with her sister who flew in from Australia. After returning to the UK briefly in May, she reportedly spoke of wanting to work abroad, and claimed she’d landed a job on a boat.
But in recent days, Lee had started posting sun-soaked beach snaps again, as well as TikToks of herself partying and flying. On the day of her arrest, she posted a video from a plane tagged in Bangkok, wearing a facemask as she flew over an island.
She later sent a Snapchat video from what she claimed was a Sri Lankan police HQ, reassuring friends she was “okay” but hasn’t been heard from since, The Daily Mail reported.
One friend said: “Her Snapchat did go live at one point, but whether it was her or the police we don’t know.”
The arrest comes just a week after 18 year old Bella May Culley, from Billingham, County Durham, was detained in Georgia after allegedly flying in from Thailand with 14kg of cannabis in her bags. She now faces life behind bars in the ex-Soviet state.
Lee’s social media paints the picture of a typical young Brit enjoying life – selfies in her TUI uniform, sipping drinks in pubs, dancing in clubs, and travelling the world.
But now she’s at the centre of a serious drug trafficking case, and could be facing a grim future far from the glamour of the skies.
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