Family of Peru drug mule tell of hopes for release
Second of Peru Two has served third of her smuggling sentence
THE parents of drug smuggler Melissa Reid are hoping she will be home within weeks after serving more than a third of her sentence in a South American prison.
The Peruvian judiciary has set out a court date for the 22-year-old when it will be ascertained whether the Scot will be able to return to the UK.
Reid and friend Michaella McCollom Connolly, from Northern Ireland, were jailed for six years and eight months in 2013 for smuggling cocaine worth £1.5million.
Known as the Peru Two, the pair were serving their sentence in the notorious Ancon 2 prison north of Lima. Both had applied for behindclosed-doors plea bargain to secure a shorter sentence.
Earlier this month, McCollom Connolly was granted parole by a court in Lima, but it is anticipated she will have to remain in Peru for a considerable period as part of the conditions.
Reid, from Lenzie, is instead waiting for an expulsion hearing where she will find out if she can return to the UK. If successful, she will not have to serve out the remainder of her sentence.
Her father, Billy, said: “We have been waiting some time for a hearing and are hopeful we could finally get Melissa home.
“She has been left on her own now that Michaella is out. They were together from the start and this week has been hard for her.
“We are worried about her and are just praying her case will be heard as soon as possible and have a positive result.”
Reid is said to have told her family she is “happy for Michaella” but is also “lonely and worried” about her own fate.
Julio Maga, head of the Peruvian prison service, said: “The conduct of these two girls was punishable under our criminal code but I am for short sentences for people like them who are not heads of drug gangs.
“They are just the people who are paid to transport the bags. They have been used and I do not think they will reoffend.
“I think they have been punished enough. They have had good conduct in prison, doing study and work, and their reports are good.
“Melissa has applied for expulsion and I would encourage Michaella to do so. [Parole] is faster but Michaella will have to comply with a set of rules and if she breaks them she could end up back in prison.
“They are both first-time offenders and have completed a third of their sentence, so are eligible.”
McCollom Connolly was interviewed in Peru for a documentary that was aired on RTE One, saying: “I potentially could have filled Europe full of a lot of drugs.
“I could have killed a lot of people, not directly but I could have caused a lot of harm.”
“I made a decision in a moment of madness. I’m not a bad person. I want to demonstrate that I’m a good person.”
She later reportedly told friends that she was “making the most of the time I have with my family” and is staying in a rented apartment in the Miraflores area of the city.