Romance in the air for drugs mule

THE SCOTS half of the so-called Peru Two drug mules is reportedly seeing a backpacker who visited her when she was in a South American jail.

Melissa Reid, from Lenzie, now shares a home and dog in Kilmarnock with her other half. A friend described how 24-year-old Reid and 34-yearold Gary Stafford “have really fallen for each other”.

The source added of the time they met: “She agreed for him to visit her in jail and they got on like a house on fire. His visits meant the world to Melissa as it was a very tough experience.

“He really helped her get through the sentence.

“Melissa just wants to live a quiet life. She has no desire to be famous on the back of what happened,” said the friend, according to The Scottish Sun.

Reid first made international headlines when, along with Michaella McCollum, from Belfast, she was arrested in August 2013 for drugsmuggling at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Peru.

Their luggage was found to contain 11kg of cocaine worth £1.5 million.

They were only 20-yearsold at the time and were quickly dubbed the “Peru Two” by the press after the incident became breaking news across the UK, Ireland, and in other parts of Europe. Both women were jailed for six years and eight months after admitting to the crime, but were freed in 2016 after striking a deal with Peruvian authorities.