Thursday 15 August 2013

Peru Drugs: Women 'Exasperated' At Treatment



The two women accused of trying to smuggle cocaine out of Peru are "exasperated" and "frustrated" at the way Peruvian authorities are dealing with their case.

Melissa Reid, 19, and Michaella McCollum, 20, are being held after 11kg (24.2lbs) of cocaine with an estimated street value of £1.5m was found in their luggage.

Reid, from Scotland, and McCollum, from Northern Ireland, have not yet had a formal interview or a chance to properly give their version of events, said Daily Mirror journalist Christopher Bucktin.

Despite the situation, he said the women were still "very strong".

He told Sky News: "They're becoming exasperated and increasingly frustrated over the lack of guidance from the Peruvian authorities.

"They have not had a full interview yet, they've not had an interpreter.

"They were supposed to be in court today but it has been put back at the eleventh hour. They are in court now next Tuesday, they hope."

The two women reportedly said that Colombian gangsters forced them at gunpoint to carry the drugs.

Bucktin, who has been allowed to speak to the two women, said they seem "very strong still but they have moments where they get very despondent".

Melissa Reid's father has arrived in Lima and should be reunited with her soon, said the reporter.

However, he added that Michaella McCollum had spoken to her parents but the 20-year-old did not know whether they would travel to Peru.

The women could be moved to Peru's "notorious" Santa Monica prison after next week's court appearance, Bucktin told Sky News.

The prison holds more than double its intended capacity, according to a US State Department document, which says jails in Peru are violent and unhygienic with "near epidemic levels" of HIV and tuberculosis.

The women were arrested last week and in police footage Reid told officers: "I was forced to take these bags in my luggage."

Asked if she knew the bags contained drugs, Reid replied: "I did not know that."

Police video also shows an officer examining a row of food bags, in which the drug was allegedly hidden.

Reid's father told Sky News Scotland Correspondent Jane Chilton that his family was devastated by the arrest.

William Reid said his daughter was a beautiful and intelligent young woman who would never do anything like this of her own free will.

The two women had been living in Ibiza before travelling to Peru and said they were planning to fly on to Majorca when they were arrested.

They could face a jail term of up 25 years if convicted.

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