Drug suspects could spend 3 years in jail awaiting trial

Two women arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle cocaine worth €1.7m out of Peru have been refused bail and could spend up to three years in prison awaiting trial, it emerged last night.

Michaella McCollum-Connolly and Melissa Reid, both 20, face a maximum prison sentence of 15 years if convicted, the prosecutor’s office in Callao, near Lima, has said.

Last night, during a public court appearance, the pair were formally charged with the promotion of drug trafficking and were refused bail.