A Scot and a Northern Irish woman arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5 million out of Peru have been formally charged, prosecutors have said.
Melissa Reid, 20, from Glasgow, and Michaella McCollum Connolly, 20, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, in Northern Ireland, face a maximum prison sentence of 15 years if convicted, the prosecutor’s office in Callao, near Lima added.
The pair have spent the last two weeks in custody over the drug trafficking allegations but are expected to be transferred to prison to await their trial.
They were pictured on Tuesday in handcuffs being escorted by officers from the National Police anti-drug headquarters for medical examinations.
Peruvian police said they found around 24lb of cocaine hidden inside food packages as the women attempted to board a flight from Lima to Madrid.
The women, who both deny the allegations and say they were forced to carry the bags by armed men, are expected to enter not guilty pleas.
If refused bail, the women face up to three years in jail before a trial.
Ms McCollum’s lawyer, Peter Madden, said the women had been kept in harsh conditions but had been treated well.
“They are fairly tough conditions, there’s not an awful lot to eat there, but she’s been treated fairly well by the police and by the people in the police centre,” he said.