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Michaella McCollum: Drugs smuggler speaks about 'moment of madness' Michaella McCollum: Peru drug smuggler tells of 'moment of madness'
(about 2 hours later)
A woman from County Tyrone jailed for drug smuggling in Peru has said her decision was made in a "moment of madness". A woman from County Tyrone who was sent to prison for drug smuggling in South America has said her decision was made in "my moment of madness".
Michaella McCollum was freed on parole in Peru this week after serving more than two years in prison there. Michaella McCollum was freed on parole in Peru this week after serving more than two years in jail in the country.
She said if the cocaine had got back to Europe, she could have "had a lot of blood on my hands". She said that if the cocaine she was trying to take to Europe had reached its intended destination she could have had "a lot of blood on my hands".
"I could have caused a lot of harm to people," the Dungannon woman added.
Ms McCollum and Melissa Reid, from Lenzie, near Glasgow in Scotland, were caught with 11kg (24lb) of cocaine in their luggage at Lima airport in August 2013.
They were trying to board a flight to Madrid in Spain.
Followed
Ms McCollum told Irish state broadcaster RTÉ she had been "very naive, so young and very insecure" when she attempted to smuggle the cocaine.
"A lot of times I didn't know how to say no to somebody," she said.
"I kind of just followed along with it and I guess a part of me kind of wanted to be something I'm not.
"But simply I made a decision in my moment of madness."
Ms McCollum said she is "not a bad person" and wanted to demonstrate that by doing "something good".
She said she regretted the "harm that I've done and so much suffering" caused to her family.
Ruined
And she acknowledged that had she managed to transport the drugs to Spain she could have "caused destruction to society".
She said: "In my time here, I thought: 'What if the drugs had got back [to Europe]? What would've happened?'
"I probably would've had a lot of blood on my hands, the amount of families that would've ruined.
"I could have potentially killed a lot of people, not directly but I could have caused a lot of harm to people.""I could have potentially killed a lot of people, not directly but I could have caused a lot of harm to people."
Ms McCollum, from Dungannon, told Irish state broadcaster RTÉ that she was not a bad person and wanted to demonstrate she was a good person. Ms McCollum and Ms Reid initially claimed they had been kidnapped and forced to carry the drugs.
She said she had "forgotten the things that everybody takes for granted". But the pair later admitted trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5m from Peru to Spain and were jailed for six years and eight months.
"Seeing the sun, seeing the darkness, seeing the moon and the stars, things I haven't seen in almost three years," she told the programme. She said that during her time in prison she had "forgotten the things that everybody takes for granted".
Ms McCollum and Melissa Reid, from Scotland, were caught with 11kg (24lb) of cocaine in August 2013. "Seeing the sun, seeing the darkness, seeing the moon and the stars, things I haven't seen in almost three years," she said.
They were searched at Lima's international airport and cocaine was found hidden inside packages of food. Transfer
The women initially claimed they had been kidnapped and forced to carry drugs, but later admitted the charges. Ms McCollum was released on parole on Thursday night and her solicitor is waiting to hear the terms of her release.
The pair admitted trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5m from Peru to Spain and were jailed for six years and eight months. It is understood she will have to remain in the South American country for a considerable time under her parole conditions.
Ms McCollum was effectively released on parole on Thursday night and her solicitor is waiting to hear the terms of her release. She was freed under new legislation on early prison release introduced in Peru last year, having served two years and three months.
It is anticipated she will have to remain in the South American country for a considerable period as part of her parole conditions. Ms Reid remains in a Peruvian prison.
Ms McCollum was freed under new legislation on early prison release introduced in Peru last year.
She had served two years and three months.
Melissa Reid from Lenzie, near Glasgow, who was also convicted for trying to smuggle cocaine, remains in prison in Peru.
She has been seeking to serve the remainder of her sentence closer to home in Scotland.She has been seeking to serve the remainder of her sentence closer to home in Scotland.
A transfer request for her was approved by the Scottish Prison Service in January 2015.A transfer request for her was approved by the Scottish Prison Service in January 2015.
But it says any transfer would ultimately be for the Peruvian prison service to determine.But it says any transfer would ultimately be for the Peruvian prison service to determine.
Michaella McCollum's interview will be shown on RTÉ One at 21:30 BST on Sunday.