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20/08/2013
Peru Drugs Case - Accused Arrive In Court
Two British women have arrived in court in the Peruvian capital Lima to hear the charges against them, after they attempted to board a plane with 11kg of cocaine in their luggage.
20-year-olds Michaella McCollum from Dungannon and Melissa Reid from Lenzie near Glasgow have been accused of attempting to smuggle £1.5m worth of cocaine into Spain.
The women were stopped two weeks ago at Jorge Chavez airport in the Peruvian capital. Upon searching their luggage, airport staff found cocaine hidden inside food packages.
They have denied accusations that they were acting as drug mules, and say they were forced to carry the baggage by a drug gang, who threatened to kill them if they did not agree.
They say they were forced into the operation in Ibiza, where they had been working over the summer.
The pair arrived at court today to hear the charges against them.
It is unknown whether they intend to enter a 'not guilty' plea.
Many commentators have said pleading guilty would reduce the amount of time they would spend in jail, given the evidence against them.
Miss McCollum and Miss Reid have been told they could face three years in prison before they are even tried, if they are refused bail.
On Monday, Ms McCollum's solicitor Peter Madden made a public statement in which he denied his client's involvement in drug smuggling and refuted some claims made by newspapers that the accused had dealt in the drugs trade while working in Ibiza.
If convicted, the pair face eight or nine years in jail. But if the court decides they were acting as members of an organised gang, they could face 20 - 25 years.
(IT/CD)
20-year-olds Michaella McCollum from Dungannon and Melissa Reid from Lenzie near Glasgow have been accused of attempting to smuggle £1.5m worth of cocaine into Spain.
The women were stopped two weeks ago at Jorge Chavez airport in the Peruvian capital. Upon searching their luggage, airport staff found cocaine hidden inside food packages.
They have denied accusations that they were acting as drug mules, and say they were forced to carry the baggage by a drug gang, who threatened to kill them if they did not agree.
They say they were forced into the operation in Ibiza, where they had been working over the summer.
The pair arrived at court today to hear the charges against them.
It is unknown whether they intend to enter a 'not guilty' plea.
Many commentators have said pleading guilty would reduce the amount of time they would spend in jail, given the evidence against them.
Miss McCollum and Miss Reid have been told they could face three years in prison before they are even tried, if they are refused bail.
On Monday, Ms McCollum's solicitor Peter Madden made a public statement in which he denied his client's involvement in drug smuggling and refuted some claims made by newspapers that the accused had dealt in the drugs trade while working in Ibiza.
If convicted, the pair face eight or nine years in jail. But if the court decides they were acting as members of an organised gang, they could face 20 - 25 years.
(IT/CD)
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