Arrested: Sri Lankan authorities are investigating Coulsdon woman Charlotte May Lee

A 21-year-old woman from Coulsdon, Charlotte May Lee, faces spending years in a Sri Lankan jail after she was arrested when arriving from Thailand last week and accused of smuggling £1.5million-worth of the drug kush.

Lee was arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo after a flight from Bangkok.

Sri Lankan authorities say that they seized 46kilogrammes of the dangerous drug in two suitcases, the largest haul of kush that they have ever discovered.

Lee, a former air stewardess, had flown to Thailand in April to celebrate her 21st birthday with her sister.

A family friend told a Sunday newspaper: “We’re frantically worried. She was arrested then seemingly abandoned and is rotting in a jail cell. She’s very scared.”

It has been suggested that because of the volume of drugs seized, if convicted Lee could face at least 20 years in jail.

Drugs haul: police and customs officers at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo say they found 46kg of kush tightly packed into two suitcases

“British Embassy staff warned her she’s going nowhere soon,” the friend was reported as saying.

Kush is a high-grade strain of cannabis.

It is a highly addictive mix of drugs and chemicals, 25 times more potent than opioid fentanyl and often cut with toxic chemicals.

The Foreign Office says it is aware of the arrest and is offering consular support.

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