Drug suspects could spend 3 years in jail awaiting trial
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.
Ms McCollum-Connolly, from Co Tyrone, and Reid, from Glasgow, claim they were forced to carry the drugs — concealed in food packages — by an armed gang who threatened their family members.
But during the hearing, the judge reportedly asked the pair why they did not ask for help when they arrived at Lima airport, to which they replied they were threatened.
They have spent the last two weeks in custody but are expected to be transferred to prison to await their trial.
Ms McCollum-Connolly’s lawyer Peter Madden said they were effectively beginning a prison sentence as the pair were told in court it was unlikely they would be granted bail, according to reports.
The women told the court they were being threatened by “someone anonymous”, according to Sky News.
At the hearing they were informed it could take three years for their trial to get under way should they plead not guilty. They were returned to prison to await trial.
Mr Madden said earlier he did not know what was going to happen his client and that the conditions she was being held in were “unacceptable”.
The pair were pictured in handcuffs being escorted by officers from the National Police anti-drug headquarters for medical examinations.
Peruvian police said they found around 24lb of cocaine hidden inside food packages as the women attempted to board a flight from Lima to Madrid.
The women are expected to enter not guilty pleas.
Mr Madden said: “Their main concern at the minute is that they may be separated, sent to different prisons.
“They are very concerned that might happen. They did not know each other before this started; they have now become best friends.”
