Reality sets in for accused in Peru

MICHAELLA McCollum-Connolly and Melissa Reid, caught with a total of 11kg of cocaine hidden in their luggage at Lima airport, may have so far underestimated the situation they are in. They could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, and their claims of being forced into the crime will be scrutinised heavily.

In the video which emerged of the two girls being questioned, Reid can be heard saying: “I was forced to take this bag.” She also said she did not know it contained drugs.

Eduardo Castañeda, a counter-narcotics prosecutor, says those kinds of claims are generally false. “If you are trafficking drugs you are doing it for profit. The narcos [people involved in organised crime] want to use people who want to do it. It is for their own security. If they forced anyone, they would be putting themselves at risk.”