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| Peru drug arrests: British woman Melissa Reid 'to plead guilty' | Peru drug arrests: British woman Melissa Reid 'to plead guilty' |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A British woman accused of trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5m from Peru is reportedly planning to plead guilty in exchange for a short sentence. | A British woman accused of trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5m from Peru is reportedly planning to plead guilty in exchange for a short sentence. |
| Melissa Reid was arrested along with Michaella McCollum Connolly last month after 11kg of cocaine was found in their luggage inside food packages as they tried to board a flight from Lima to Madrid. | |
| The 20-year-olds, who had been in Ibiza before turning up in Peru, claimed that they were forced at gunpoint to carry the bags in their luggage. Reid told the Mail on Sunday that she maintained that she acted under duress, but by striking a deal with the Peruvian authorities under which she admits she was carrying the drugs, but not that she was paid to do so, she can drastically cut her jail sentence. | The 20-year-olds, who had been in Ibiza before turning up in Peru, claimed that they were forced at gunpoint to carry the bags in their luggage. Reid told the Mail on Sunday that she maintained that she acted under duress, but by striking a deal with the Peruvian authorities under which she admits she was carrying the drugs, but not that she was paid to do so, she can drastically cut her jail sentence. |
| "After a lot of thought and advice from my lawyer I am going to go in front of the judge and admit I was in possession of the drugs and that I went to Peru to pick up drugs to take to Spain – I am willing to plead guilty to that," she said. | "After a lot of thought and advice from my lawyer I am going to go in front of the judge and admit I was in possession of the drugs and that I went to Peru to pick up drugs to take to Spain – I am willing to plead guilty to that," she said. |
| "I did it under duress, I still maintain that, and I am glad I do not have to say I accepted money to do it … Pleading guilty is going to enable me to get back to my family in Scotland sooner rather than later. I do not want to be in jail until I'm 35 – I can't get those years back." | "I did it under duress, I still maintain that, and I am glad I do not have to say I accepted money to do it … Pleading guilty is going to enable me to get back to my family in Scotland sooner rather than later. I do not want to be in jail until I'm 35 – I can't get those years back." |
| Reid, from Glasgow, and McCollum Connolly, from Dungannon, County Tyrone, had been told that they could wait anything up to three years for a trial hearing, and prosecutors suggested they faced a prison sentence of eight to 15 years. The Mail on Sunday reported that Reid had agreed to plead guilty in return for a sentence of six years and eight months, with her family hopeful she could serve as little as two and a half years. It said McCollum Connolly's lawyer had indicated she may follow suit. | |
| Reid's family believe that the guilty plea could enable her to be transferred to Scotland to serve her sentence. Her father, Billy, 53, told the Mail on Sunday it was "as good a result as we could have hope for. It seems strange to be happy about the prospect of your 20-year-old daughter being sentenced to six years and eight months in jail, but we are delighted. Crucially, we could start pushing for her to be transferred to Scotland." | Reid's family believe that the guilty plea could enable her to be transferred to Scotland to serve her sentence. Her father, Billy, 53, told the Mail on Sunday it was "as good a result as we could have hope for. It seems strange to be happy about the prospect of your 20-year-old daughter being sentenced to six years and eight months in jail, but we are delighted. Crucially, we could start pushing for her to be transferred to Scotland." |
| In a video previously released by police, Reid, a former shopworker, was shown alongside McCollum Connolly, a photography student seeking work as a nightclub hostess in Ibiza, at the time of their arrest as their luggage was examined. | In a video previously released by police, Reid, a former shopworker, was shown alongside McCollum Connolly, a photography student seeking work as a nightclub hostess in Ibiza, at the time of their arrest as their luggage was examined. |
| In the video, Reid told officials she had been forced to take the bags and did not know they contained drugs, while McCollum Connolly identified herself as Irish. At a court hearing last month the judge said the pair "admit knowing about the drugs but did not inform an authority". | In the video, Reid told officials she had been forced to take the bags and did not know they contained drugs, while McCollum Connolly identified herself as Irish. At a court hearing last month the judge said the pair "admit knowing about the drugs but did not inform an authority". |
| The pair met while spending the summer working in bars in Ibiza, and claimed they had been forced to travel to Peru to become drug mules by an armed gang on the island. | The pair met while spending the summer working in bars in Ibiza, and claimed they had been forced to travel to Peru to become drug mules by an armed gang on the island. |
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