It was alleged yesterday that drug smuggling suspect Bella Culley was hired to pretend she was a company director, enabling Chinese sellers to evade Amazon’s prohibition on operating within the UK market.
It is reported that Culley, who is 18 years old, obtained £550 in exchange for her passport details. These details were subsequently utilized to establish a business account on an online platform.
She is registered with Companies House as a director of Lujamen Ltd, a company associated with Jiamin Lu, a 30-year-old entrepreneur from Guangdong.
China
, who offers pre-owned electronic goods via the internet.
Culley, who hails from Billingham in Teesside, is currently detained in Tbilisi, Georgia. He was reportedly apprehended at the country’s main airport with an estimated £200,000 worth of narcotics last Sunday.
The Mail on Sunday talked to yet another British individual associated with Jiamin Lu, who mentioned he agreed to act as a director under Culley’s auspices.
This is an ‘invite a friend’ program online,” he explained. “I signed up for some additional cash, and once I received my payment, they mentioned that you could refer a handful of friends if you wish.
‘I posted about this, and Culley did too. This refers to the nominee director program, which lets customers operate within the UK market. I’ve shared it with some acquaintances — though it’s not related to drug trafficking at all.’
Before her arrest, Culley posted on social media referring to herself as part of Bonnie and Clyde and shared pictures of herself with stacks of banknotes.
In Tbilisi, she was halted during what appeared to be an undercover operation when law enforcement reportedly discovered 12 kg of marijuana and 2 kg of hashish in her baggage.
Before heading to Georgia from Bangkok through the United Arab Emirates, she had journeyed in the Philippines and Thailand.
Last week, at a courthouse in Tbilisi, she stated that she was expecting a child. It has been reported that she informed legal insiders about her feelings for an unidentified individual, who has become a key figure in the ongoing police inquiry.
Lujamen Ltd was established last September, with Culley registered as a director in the same month. The company maintains an active presence on Amazon, where they sell used electronic items.
Someone else who enlisted after noticing the £550 advertisement was surprised when The Mail on Sunday informed them that they had been connected to Culley through Companies House records.
They mentioned, “We participated in this Amazon venture. Some individuals were circulating offers, stating ‘we’ll provide £550.’ You set up an Amazon business account, and somebody from China purchases your account.”
A few individuals in Darlington were involved in this scheme. All you had to do was provide your passport information for them to set up an account. This data would then be sold to someone based in China, after which the account would be transferred into that person’s name, supposedly concluding the process.
‘It happened because Jeff Bezos had a falling-out with China and shut down all their Amazon sales accounts. So now they can’t reopen these accounts themselves but can buy them instead. The price is £550 paid under the table, and everybody finds this amusing.’
Culley’s initial appearance at the Tbilisi court last Tuesday was televised locally, and her family learned about it the following day.
Her dad, Niel, aged 49, traveled to Thailand looking for her before heading to Georgia alongside her aunt Kerrie, who is 51 years old. So far, they haven’t been allowed to visit her.
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