Locked up: British girls Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly, who are suspected of smuggling £1.5million worth of cocaine out of Peru, have been sent to prison to await trial after a judge refused them bail today''
Two British girls suspected of smuggling £1.5million worth of cocaine out of Peru have been sent to prison to await trial. Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly, both 20, appeared in court in Lima tonight to be told they were being charged with the 'promotion of drug trafficking'.
Following a one-hour hearing, the judge remanded the women in custody after refusing a bail application. He is expected to decide which jail to send the women to in the next 24 hours.
The pair looked glum and drawn as they were led away in handcuffs through the back of the court to a holding cell. At one point, Miss Connolly wiped a tear away from her eye.
Worried: The pair looked glum and drawn as they were led away in handcuffs through the back of the court to a holding cell''
Detained: The pair were handcuffed before leaving the Callao courtroom where a Peruvian judge ordered their imprisonment'
Lima's Ancon 2 prison where the Two British women, Michaella McCollum, from Dungannon and Melissa Reid, from Lenzie near Glasgow could be moved to''
Inside Lima's Ancon 2: A cell showing a bunk bed and barred windows''
Recreation tim at the women's prison in the Peruvian capital''
But during the hearing, the judge reportedly asked the pair why they did not ask for help when they arrived at Lima airport, to which they replied they were threatened.
During the hearing they were told they could spend up to three years in prison awaiting trial.
McCollum's lawyer Peter Madden said they had effectively begun serving a prison sentence after they were refused bail.
'Their main concern at the minute is that they may be separated, sent to different prisons,' he said.
They are very concerned that might happen. They did not know each other before this started, they have now become best friends.'
They both face up to 15 years in prison if they are convicted of drug trafficking, according to prosecutors in Callao, near Lima.
Concerns were raised last night over the state of their mental health.
The pair looked harassed and terrified as they left a prosecutor’s office last night before the decision to charge them was announced.
The two could be transferred to a women’s prison called Ancon 2 around an hour’s drive north of Lima after a night in holding cells at a court in Callao.
Miss Connolly's lawyer, Peter Madden, who yesterday visited the women at the Palace of Justice, said he feared for their physical and mental health.
But during the hearing, the judge reportedly asked the pair why they did not ask for help when they arrived at Lima airport, to which they replied they were threatened.
During the hearing they were told they could spend up to three years in prison awaiting trial.
McCollum's lawyer Peter Madden said they had effectively begun serving a prison sentence after they were refused bail.
Under pressure: Miss Connolly, 20, showed the strain following the hearing and was pictured wiping a tear from her eye''
Ordeal: Because they do not have any clean clothes, they were wearing each others outfits from the previous day''
Decision: Peruvian judge Dilo Huaman refused the two girls bail and sent them to prison to await trial
'Their main concern at the minute is that they may be separated, sent to different prisons,' he said.
They are very concerned that might happen. They did not know each other before this started, they have now become best friends.'
They both face up to 15 years in prison if they are convicted of drug trafficking, according to prosecutors in Callao, near Lima.
Concerns were raised last night over the state of their mental health.
The pair looked harassed and terrified as they left a prosecutor’s office last night before the decision to charge them was announced.
The two could be transferred to a women’s prison called Ancon 2 around an hour’s drive north of Lima after a night in holding cells at a court in Callao.
Miss Connolly's lawyer, Peter Madden, who yesterday visited the women at the Palace of Justice, said he feared for their physical and mental health.
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