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British drug smuggler Melissa Reid released from prison in Peru British drug smuggler Melissa Reid released from prison in Peru
(about 9 hours later)
The British drug smuggler Melissa Reid has been released from prison in Peru and is on her way back to the UK. The British drug smuggler Melissa Reid is on her way back to the UK after spending the last three years in a Peruvian jail.
The 22-year-old was photographed with her father Billy at Lima airport on Tuesday evening. Reid, 22, was photographed with her father, Billy, at Lima airport on Tuesday evening and it is understood the pair will travel back to Glasgow via Amsterdam.
It is understood the pair will travel back to the UK via a European airport. Reid, from Lenzie in East Dunbartonshire, along with Michaella McCollum, from Dungannon in County Tyrone, was jailed in 2013 after 11kg of cocaine worth an estimated £1.5m was found in their luggage at Lima airport.
Reid, from Lenzie in East Dunbartonshire, and Michaella McCollum, from Dungannon in Co Tyrone, were jailed in 2013 after trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5m from Peru to Spain.
A judge in Lima last month granted an order to expel Reid because she met the legal requirements for release.
According to reports, the release process has now been completed.
McCollum, 23, was freed in March under new legislation, but was required to remain on parole in Peru.McCollum, 23, was freed in March under new legislation, but was required to remain on parole in Peru.
It is understood Reid will be able to return to the UK as a free woman. But Reid has been allowed to return home after a judge in Lima last month granted an order to expel her because she met the legal requirements for release.
The pair were caught at Lima airport trying to board a flight with 11kg (24lb) of cocaine in food packets hidden in their luggage. Reid and McCollum originally faced a maximum of 15 years in prison if found guilty but decided to plead guilty in the hope of getting a lighter sentence. They were sentenced in December 2013 to six years and eight months in jail.
They claimed they were forced to carry the drugs, but pleaded guilty to the charges and were sentenced to six years and eight months. McCollum’s solicitor, Kevin Winters, had described the conditions in which they were held as horrendous.
Billy Reid has previously said the impact of his daughter’s crime on his family had been “horrendous” and spoke out in a video warning of the consequences of drug offences abroad. The pair had been in Virgen de Fatima prison in Lima, but were moved to the Ancon 2 prison where McCollum was reportedly crammed in a cell with extremely poor sanitation and toilet facilities with 30 other prisoners.
Reid’s father said the impact of her crime on his family had been traumatic and warned in a video of the consequences of drug offences abroad.
“It’s horrendous to see your daughter in handcuffs and the living conditions that she has to put up with. Melissa has spent her own 20th and 21st birthdays in prison in Peru,” he said.
“She missed the significant event of her only brother’s wedding. Events such as Christmas are non-existent for us. There’ll be no celebrations in our house, there’ll be no Christmas tree until we get her back home.”
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: “We continue to provide assistance to Melissa Reid and remain in contact with her family and local authorities.”A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: “We continue to provide assistance to Melissa Reid and remain in contact with her family and local authorities.”