British drug mule Melissa Reid has arrived home in Scotland after being released from prison in Peru, where she served a three year sentence for smuggling cocaine. Reid, 22, from Lenzie, flew into Glasgow on a flight from Amsterdam after flying long-haul from Lima, accompanied by her father Billy. There she avoided waiting journalists by making an air side transfer.
Despite being expelled from Peru, Reid will not carry her criminal conviction back to the UK and is now a free woman, according to a report by the BBC on Wednesday (22 June). She had served her time in prison according to the law and can now go to her country, free, to the streets, according to a spokeswoman for Perus prison service, Janeth Sanchez.
Melissas friend Michaella McCollum, 23, from Dungannon in Co Tyrone, must remain in Peru despite being released from prison in March (2016) under strict parole conditions. It is unclear when she will be allowed to fly home.
Speaking in a television interview with RTE after her release, McCollum said: A lot of times I didnt know how to say no to somebody. I kind of just followed along with it and I guess a part of me kind of wanted to be something Im not. But, simply, I made a decision in my moment of madness.
Reid and McCollum were arrested at Lima airport on 6 August 2013 and found to be in possession of 11kg (24lb) of cocaine, worth around £1.5m ($2.2m) , hidden in their bags. They had been trying to board a flight to Madrid when they were caught with the drugs.
Initially both women claimed they had been coerced into carrying the drugs but changed their plea to guilty and faced 15-year jail sentences, reduced to six years in a plea bargain behind closed doors. The Peru Two were sent to Limas tough Ancon 2 prison where they shared a cell with up to 30 other prisoners, learning Spanish in order to survive.
