Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Melissa Reid, of Britain, left, and Irish-born Michaella McCollum are escorted to a waiting vehicle to transport them to their sentencing, in Lima, Peru on 17 December 2013. Karel Navarro Pando/AP/Press Association Images
Cocaine smuggling
Melissa Reid to be released from prison in Peru
The Scottish woman was arrested in August 2013 with Michaella McCollum from Co Tyrone.
AUTHORITIES IN PERU have said they will expel British woman Melissa Reid, who has been in prison since 2013 after being convicted of trafficking cocaine.
A court in Lima approved her expulsion, granting a petition for her release filed by her attorneys.
Reid (22) was arrested in August 2013 at Lima’s international airport along with Michaella McCollum from Co Tyrone. Both women were said to have cocaine in their luggage which they were trying to smuggle out of the country, according to authorities.
Reid, from Scotland, had served about a third of her six-year prison sentence, according to a press release issued by the court, which said she also had to pay a fine equivalent to about $3,000 (€2,650).
Officials said she will remain in prison until her expulsion, which is expected to take place within the next few weeks.
McCollum was granted parole last month on a conditional release.
McCollum (23) resides in Lima and must present herself to officials once a month as a condition of her release.
have your say