Post date: Aug 19, 2013 5:52:10 PM
A lawyer for a Briton detained in Peru on suspicion of drug smuggling criticises media reports about the case.
LIMA, PERU (AUGUST 19, 2013) (REUTERS) - A lawyer acting for a Briton detained in Peru on accusations of drug smuggling on Monday (August 19) criticised media reports over the case, describing them as "bizarre".
Twenty-year-old Michaella McCollum Connolly and 19-year-old Melissa Reid were detained in Lima last week, accused of trying to smuggle millions of dollars worth of cocaine to Europe. The two women have protested their innocence, saying they were forced to carry items in their luggage at gunpoint.The two women have not yet been charged in the case.
Peruvian officials say the two women were en route to Madrid and Majorca on Tuesday (August 06) when airport officials discovered almost 12 kilos (26 lbs) of cocaine hidden inside food packages in their luggage. The cocaine was said to have a street value of some two million U.S. dollars.
Embassy officials in Northern Ireland and Britain have reportedly been in contact with Peruvian authorities to offer consular assistance to the suspects.
Peru ranks among Colombia and Bolivia as one of the world's largest producers of cocaine.