Charlotte May Lee, 21, from Coulsdon, south London, appeared to be in tears as she was escorted into the court by local police officers.
The part-time beautician was arrested in Colombo earlier this month after police allegedly discovered 46 kg of “Kush” in her suitcase.
She had just arrived in the Sri Lankan capital on a flight from Thailand’s capital Bangkok when she was arrested at Bandaranaike Airport and taken into custody on Monday, May 11.
Customs officers said the stash was the largest amount of Kush ever to be detected at the airport since its opening in 1967.
Ms Lee appeared in court today where officers also brought in the near-50kg cannabis as part of their investigation, The Sun reported.
The young woman claimed she did not know she was smuggling drugs into Sri Lanka before she was detained and called her allegations “made up”.
If found guilty, Ms Lee could face a 25-year sentence.
Miss Lee is accused of two charges, one of possessing illegal drugs and another of importing illegal drugs into the country.
She has been held in the Negombo Prison which has been described as “hell” for women, with maggots being reportedly found in food and rats scuttling around overcrowded cells.
Speaking about her “awful” ordeal, Miss Lee said she had “no idea” that there were synthetic drugs in her luggage.
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She told MailOnline: “I had never seen them 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.
“So I left my bags in the hotel room and headed for the night out. As they were already packed I didn't check them again in the morning. They must have planted it then.”
Ms Lee revealed she had been working on a “booze cruise” in Thailand but her 30-day visa was about to expire so she decided to take a trip to nearby Sri Lanka while she waited for her visa to be renewed.
She added: '”They (the people she believed planted the drugs) were supposed to meet me here (in Thailand) . But now I'm here, stuck in this jail.
“I am trying my best to stay positive because what else can you do? I feel as though I have no human rights here.
“The shower is not really a shower, it's just a bucket that you pour over yourself but they don't give you anything for that.
“You are only allowed two or three hours outside in the sun a day, occasionally longer if there are a lot of women in court that day.”
Kush is a highly addictive synthetic substance which has claimed the lives of thousands in West Africa when it appeared in 2022.
It is cut with an array of additives including acetone, the opioid tramadol and formalin, a toxic chemical commonly used to preserve bodies in mortuaries.
Prosecutors will argue her experience as a stewardess with holiday airline TUI proves she “knew to check her luggage before a flight”.
