British Women Formally Charged with Drug Smuggling in Peru

Two women arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5m out of Peru have been formally charged.

Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid, both 20, were moved to a detention centre in Lima after appearing before the District Prosecutor on Tuesday.

The women face a maximum prison sentence of 15 years if convicted, the prosecutor’s office in Callao said.

McCollum Connolly and Reid were detained in Lima last week, accused of trying to smuggle millions of dollars worth of cocaine into Europe.

The two women have protested their innocence, saying they were forced to carry items in their luggage at gunpoint.

Peruvian officials say the women were en route to Madrid and Majorca on August 6 when airport officials discovered almost 12kgs (26lbs) of cocaine hidden inside food packages in their luggage.

The cocaine was said to have a street value of some $2m (£639,000).

They will eventually be taken to the high security women’s prison Ancon 2, north of Lima.