A 21-year-old British woman accused of attempting to smuggle nearly 46 kilograms of cannabis into Sri Lanka has spoken for the first time about her experience behind bars, describing harsh jail conditions and uncertainty over her legal future.
Charlotte May Lee, a former flight attendant from south London, was arrested earlier this month after arriving at Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport on a flight from Thailand. Authorities allege that the drugs were found packed in two large suitcases in her possession.
“I can’t compare it to anything,” Lee told the BBC in an exclusive interview before her court appearance on Friday. She is currently being held at a prison in Negombo, just north of the capital, where she shares a small cell with five other women and sleeps on a thin mattress on a concrete floor, using her own clothes as a pillow.
Lee said she spends most of her time indoors, though she is occasionally allowed outside for fresh air. “This heat and just sitting on a concrete floor all of the time,” she remarked, adding that she tries not to dwell on her circumstances to preserve her mental well-being. “If I think, then I feel bad. I’d still rather not process it.”
The young Briton, who said she travelled to Sri Lanka to renew her Thai visa, has not yet been formally charged but is being held on suspicion of drug possession and smuggling. If convicted, she could face up to 25 years in prison under Sri Lankan narcotics laws.
Lee maintains she was unaware of the drugs allegedly found in her luggage.
Her lawyer, Sampath Perera, raised questions during Friday’s procedural hearing about whether the seized material had been formally analysed. He urged the magistrate to order government authorities to test the suspected drugs to confirm if they are indeed cannabis. The court granted the request, instructing that a report be submitted promptly.
During the hearing at the Negombo Magistrate’s Court, Lee appeared visibly emotional. Wearing a white knee-length dress and with her long hair parted to the side, she stood quietly with her hands behind her back. She had earlier been held in a cell at the back of the courtroom before being brought to the witness box.
In a dramatic moment, officers from Sri Lanka’s narcotics division wheeled a large brown box into the courtroom, reportedly containing the 46kg of cannabis.
Perera told the BBC outside the courthouse that he plans to file a bail application on Lee’s behalf. However, the process could take up to three months. Under Sri Lankan law, suspects held in remand must appear before a judge every 14 days.
Lee has not been able to contact her family since her arrest. Despite the isolation, she said she has found solidarity with a few other English-speaking inmates in the prison. She also expressed concern for foreign nationals detained for years while awaiting trial.
Lee’s next court appearance is scheduled for 13 July, as the investigation into the case continues.
