Jailed, but no criminal record
DESPITE being convicted of drug trafficking, Melissa Reid will not have a criminal record in the UK.
In December 2013 she and coaccused Michaella McCollum were jailed for six years and eight months after being caught with 24lb (11kg) of cocaine at Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport four months earlier on August 6, 2013.
But the crime will not appear on employer background checks – and even advanced searches for people hoping to work with children and vulnerable people will be clear – because it took place outside Europe.
There is no set agreement between the British authorities and foreign nations to share records of convictions.
However, Melissa would be well advised to come clean with potential employers as employment law states a job applicant can face dismissal if they are not honest about convictions when explicitly asked.
Meanwhile, Melissa’s co-accused Michaella remains in Peru. While Melissa applied for expulsion from Peru under new laws designed for foreign prisoners, Michaella, 23, opted to leave jail sooner under the country’s parole system and remains in Lima.
Michaella, from Dungannon, County Tyrone, is currently living in an apartment in the upmarket Barranco district of the city after being released from Ancon 2 at the end of March on Semi Libertad – which means she is free from prison but must check in with the authorities and cannot leave Peru.
The MoS understands Michaella has now applied to return home under the expulsion law and will face the same judge who freed Melissa in the coming weeks.