Former TUI Cabin Crew Member Accused of Drug Smuggling Moved from Prison Where 30 People Died
Charlotte May Lee, a former TUI cabin crew member who was found with 46 kilograms of synthetic drugs in her luggage on entering Sri Lanka in May 2025, has been transferred to another prison following the deaths of 30 people at the facility where she was being held.
The 22-year-old British woman was arrested at Colombo Airport, having arrived from Thailand, with drugs worth around £1.2 million. Lee has maintained that the drugs were placed in her luggage in Bangkok without her knowledge.
Lee, who has been in custody for about 18 months on drug trafficking charges and faces up to 25 years in prison, was being held at Negombo Prison, where clashes between gangs in July reportedly left 10 officers and 20 inmates dead.
According to the British press, Lee was moved to Kuliyapitiya Prison over security concerns after the incidents. She is said to want to return to the UK and to have started learning the local language so she can communicate with other inmates.
