Detained British women in Peru moved to detention center

ImperialWalker · Aug 21, 2013

CuttingItFine · Aug 21, 2013

UK women held in Peru for drug offence

Two women arrested a fortnight ago say they were forced by armed gang to carry bags filled with cocaine.

Last Modified: 20 Aug 2013 09:16

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Windsorlou · Aug 21, 2013

British 'drug mules' formally charged with trafficking over bid to smuggle £1.5m worth of cocaine out of Peru as fears grow for their mental health

Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly charged with trafficking cocaine after being caught with massive haul of cocaine
Pair face up to 15 years in prison if they are convicted
Britons were publicly paraded in handcuffs yesterday
They underwent medical examinations and psychiatric tests
Lawyer says'they are both very shaken and upset’

By LOUISE ECCLES, ANTHONY BOND and HUGO GYE PUBLISHED: 12:45 GMT, 20 August 2013 | UPDATED: 05:51 GMT, 21 August 2013

Two British girls suspected of smuggling £1.5million worth of cocaine out of Peru have been formally charged over the alleged crime. Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly, both 20, face up to 15 years in prison if they are convicted of drug trafficking, according to prosecutors in Callao, near Lima. The pair looked harassed and terrified as they left a prosecutor’s office last night before the decision to charge them was announced. If they are refused bail, they could languish in jail for up to three years before their trial.

Fragile: Looking harassed and terrified, Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly, both 20, are led away from the state prosecutor's office for their case to be heard at the palace of justice in Callao, north Lima, Peru

Crowded: The pair - suspected of smuggling £1.5million worth of cocaine out of Peru - were surrounded by a huge media scrum as they left the state prosecutor's office

The two young women have denied the allegations, claiming they were forced to act as drug mules for armed gangsters, and are expected to plead not guilty.

Miss Connolly's lawyer, Peter Madden, who yesterday visited the women at the Palace of Justice, said he feared for their physical and mental health.

Panic: Melissa Reid screws up her face as a journalist pushes a microphone into her face

He told the Daily Mail last night: ‘They are in a horrific situation, in a dirty and cramped cell.‘They have no bedding and they have not been given any food. I have asked for them to be given mattresses or I will go and buy some. 'Their mood has changed. They are both very shaken and upset.’The pair were arrested two weeks ago at Lima Airport with 11kg of cocaine – worth £1.5million – in their suitcases as they checked-in for a flight to Madrid.The women underwent medical examinations and psychiatric tests before being moved to an anti-drugs state prosecutor’s office in the rundown port of Callao, after officers concluded their investigation.

As the woman were moved to the Palace of Justice, they looked terrified as they were jostled by journalists and photographers and escorted into a marked police car for the short journey.The women claim they were kidnapped in Ibiza and forced to smuggle drugs by gun-toting Colombian gangsters – a story police have described as ‘illogical’. Police chief Colonel Tito Perez added: ‘It is now up to state prosecutors to decide whether they formally accuse them of a crime based on the results of our investigation. Melissa and Michaella are still protesting their innocence.’A spokesman for Peru’s State Prosecution Service said: ‘Under Peruvian law we have 24 hours from the handover by police to formulate a formal accusation.’

Arrival: Michaella McCollum Connolly (left) and Melissa Reid (right) were led to court in handcuffs today where they were due to find out if they would be charged for being drug mules

The handcuffed pair were brought out by officers through the precinct's front entrance, in front of an awaiting media scrum, and placed into a van

Melissa Reid (pictured with a police officer) and Michaella McCollum looked to be in a state of shock as they were taken out of the anti-drugs police headquarters in central Lima

Armed guards marched them out of the front door of Dirandro police station in Lima yesterday rather than drive them out of the discreet underground car park in a move designed to send a message to would-be drugs smugglers.Michaella, from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, gave a weak smile when she saw the photographers crowded around the station as she left at 6am local time.The move came as Melissa’s friend Rebecca Hughes, 20, admitted they took horse tranquiliser ketamine while they were in Ibiza – but denied they hosted wild drugs-fuelled parties at their apartment.

Miss Hughes, a former sales assistant for Dior make-up, travelled to Ibiza from Glasgow with Melissa on June 22 to spend a season working in the Spanish party resort. She told the Mail: ‘Everyone tried drugs but we were only 19 and thousands of people in Ibiza do it. But the stories of Melissa drug-dealing are not true.’Earlier yesterday, the pair were pictured both wearing handcuffs when they were brought out from the National Police anti-drug headquarters front entrance to an awaiting media scrum.The 20-year-olds looked sombre and kept their eyes to the ground as they were placed in a police car and driven to court.

Suspected drugs mules: Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid

Fun times? The pair pose with beers in the sun in Peru. Reid's father William Reid, said he believes the girls were forced to stage the photos in order to portray them as 'happy holidaymakers'

If refused bail, the women face up to three years in jail before a trial. They both deny the allegations and claim they were forced to carry the bags by armed men. But yesterday further questions about the two women's version of events were raised following the emergence of photographs that allegedly show them posing on a balcony and on a beach with glasses of beer days before they were arrested at Lima airport.

The pair say they were told to take photos of themselves at tourist spots to make it look like they were friends travelling together. Reid's father William Reid, from Glasgow, who has flown to Peru to be with his daughter, agreed the photos were ambiguous, but told the Mail: 'I want to know who took that picture of them on their balcony.

'Was it taken by a third person or by a minder, and who was drinking the beer? He added: 'I believe the trip to the beach was part of a set-up that they asked them to smile to build up a portrayal of them as happy holidaymakers. 'Melissa said they had been told by the men that they weren't smiling enough in the pictures and they told them to look happier.

'I can only go by what I have been firmly told by the girls. The two girls' stories are very tight, very consistent, with a lot of detail and they seem to be telling the truth, as far as I can gauge.' He added that Ms Reid had never shown an interest in going to Peru, and was already on her 'dream holiday', saying: 'To me, that suggests she was not there willingly.'

Ambiguous: Reid, left, and Connolly pose with smiles on the balcony of a holiday flat in Peru

Both women travelled separately to the party island of Ibiza in search of work this summer.Before news of the arrests broke, McCollum's family had launched an internet campaign, fearing she was missing.Meanwhile, a senior Spanish police officer said he did not believe they had been acting under duress.First sergeant Alberto Arian Barilla, head of the Ibiza police unit responsible for countering organised crime, told the BBC: 'In my experience, I don't think these two girls were forced to do this because - particularly when you go to South America - you need to pass several controls.'The first thing you do is go to the passport control and say "Listen, this is what is happening to me".

The policeman will react so I don't think they were forced.'Connolly's lawyer, Peter Madden, denied a variety of media reports that had emerged about his client alleging involvement with drugs.'Michaella Connolly did not owe any money to any drugs dealer, she was not and is not involved in the drugs trade, she has no criminal record, she has never been in trouble with the police in her life,' he said.'She was not seen on video carrying drugs, as was alleged in one newspaper, she was carrying a handbag, it was her handbag, it was pretty obvious it wasn't drugs, but that was the report.'She was not out shopping in Lima and spending a lot of money, that didn't happen.'

Legal fight: British lawyer Peter Madden, who is representing Connolly leaves the National Police anti-drug headquarters where his client and her travel partner are being held. Today they learn what charges they face

He said both women would be moved out of the police centre to court custody ahead of their appearance.'I don't know at this stage when a decision will be made as to the actual prosecution itself, or when the investigating judge will actually make a decision,' he added.Mr Madden said the women had been kept in harsh conditions but had been treated well.'They are fairly tough conditions, there's not an awful lot to eat there, but she's been treated fairly well by the police and by the people in the police centre,' he said.

Detained British women in Peru moved to detention center

ImperialWalker

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CuttingItFine

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Windsorlou

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