Post date: Dec 17, 2013 6:38:24 PM
Two British women are sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for drug trafficking, says their lawyer.
CALLAO, PERU (DECEMBER 17, 2013) (REUTERS) - The lawyer for two British women charged with drug trafficking in Peru said on Tuesday (December 17) that his clients have been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison.
Michaella McCollum Connolly, of Dungannon in Northern Ireland, and Melissa Reid, from nearGlasgow in Scotland, were arrested at Peru's airport in mid-August.The two women pleaded guilty to charges of drug trafficking in September. By pleading guilty, lawyers and family members were hopeful they would be eligible for the lighter sentence of around six years and eight months.
McCollum Connolly and Reid were arrested after 11 kg (24 lb) of cocaine worth 1.5 million pounds was found in their luggage, according to authorities.
The women, both 20, had spent last summer working in bars on Ibiza, a Mediterranean island drawing 700,000 British holidaymakers each year. They said they had been forced to become drug mules by an armed gang and travelled to Peru under duress.