British flight attendant ‘in tears’ in court accused of smuggling 46kg of drugs

A former flight attendant from London appeared in court for the first time today, accused of smuggling £1,200,000 of synthetic cannabis.

Charlotte May Lee, 21, from south London, was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of smuggling 46kg of the drug into Sri Lanka from Thailand.

Today, she was seen walking into court in a white dress with her hands cuffed behind her, escorted into the Colombo court building.

Witnesses said she appeared ‘visibly upset’ and tearful during the court proceedings, which saw authorities wheel out the cannabis seized from her luggage.

She will appear in court again in two weeks.

Last week, new photos obtained showed Charlotte dressed all in white at Colombo’s Police Narcotic Unit just after her arrest.

The other photos show the large amount of Kush – a synthetic form of cannabis – found in two black suitcases.

She was working on a booze cruise in Thailand but decided to go to Sri Lanka for three weeks while she waited for her 30-day visa to renew.

She is being held behind bars at Negombo Prison and told the Daily Mail: ‘I had never seen them before.

‘I didn’t expect it at all when they pulled me over at the airport. I thought it was going to be filled with all my stuff.’

The prison where she could end up, Welikada Prison, has been described as ‘hell’, with rats scuttling around and maggots in food.

This cheap synthetic drug Charlotte is alleged of smuggling – that even contains ground-up human bones – has since raised concerns among experts.

What is kush?

Kush is a psychoactive blend of addictive substances.

It starts off with a plant leaf, which is then sprayed with a mixture made of synthetic cannabinoids, formaldehyde, and fentanyl.

The drug even contains ground-up human bones, according to multiple reports. When smoked, it causes users to feel euphoria, as well as sending them to sleep.

People have been killed as they fell asleep while walking, hit their heads against hard surfaces and stumbled into moving traffic.

Since 2022, an even more addictive and deadly variant of kush has taken hold. This contains synthetic opioids called nitazenes, which are up to 25 times more potent than fentanyl.

Dr Kars de Bruijne, who has written a recent report on the drug, explained why this new form of kush is even more sinister.

The drug containing mashed-up human bones may have started as a rumour, but it might have become a reality in some cases.

Dr de Bruijne explained: ‘I’ve also been speaking to people in the judicial system, and they have said that there is an increase in cemeteries where graves have been opened.’

The drug can also find itself mixed with other substances, such as rat poison, as it moves through the market.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.