A former flight attendant could be facing decades behind bars after being arrested in Sri Lanka on suspicion of smuggling a deadly new drug allegedly made from human bones.
Charlotte May Lee, 21, from South London, UK, is accused of trying to smuggle in 101lb (46kg) of the synthetic drug kush in her suitcase.
Lee, who is being held in a prison north of the capital, Colombo, has denied knowledge of the drugs and claims they were planted in her luggage. Her lawyer, Sampath Perera, told the BBC that she is in contact with her family and could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Customs officers shared photos with the haul of bags, which is said to be the largest kush seizure in Colombo's Bandaranaike Airport's history, according to Sri Lanka Customs Narcotics Control Unit and has a reported street value of $3.3million.
Kush is a new drug originating in West Africa and contributes to the deaths of an estimated dozen people a week in Sierra Leone alone, according to the New York Post.
The outlet states that one of the many ingredients within the synthetic drug is reportedly human bones, with the manufacture even allegedly leading to grave robbers targeting cemeteries in Sierra Leone.
The drug is said to be most popular with young men and can cause them to collapse unexpectedly or fall asleep while walking, leading some to wander into moving traffic, according to The Conversation.
The inclusion of human bones in the drug remains unknown, with some suggesting that the sulphur content of the bones causes a high, per the outlet.
The president of Sierra Leone declared a state of emergency last year over the abuse of kush within the country.
Lee told the Mail Online: "I had never seen them [the drugs] before. I didn't expect it all when they pulled me over at the airport. I thought it was going to be filled with all my stuff."
The former flight attendant told the outlet that she had been in Bangkok, Thailand, before flying to Sri Lanka and had packed her suitcase in her hotel room before heading out for the night.
She claimed: "They must have planted it then. I know who did it."
Lee says she did not check her luggage again before heading to Colombo, as her Thai visa was about to expire, where she was arrested at the airport.
She claims that she has faced harsh conditions while being held in prison, including being made to sleep on a concrete floor.
A senior customs officer in Sri Lanka told the BBC: "We arrested this lady [Ms Lee] based on profiling," after another British tourist was arrested for similar charges in Georgia.
He claimed there has been a massive increase in drugs coming into Sri Lanka via Bangkok, adding: "This has been a real nuisance."