A young Irish woman who sparked a massive online campaign after she was reported missing from the holiday island Ibiza has turned up in police custody in Peru on suspicion of drug trafficking.
Michaella McCollum Connolly (20) from Belfast, was arrested in Lima on Tuesday along with Briton Melissa Reid (19) from Scotland, while trying to board a flight to Madrid.
Peruvian police said the two women were being questioned over the discovery of 11 kilograms of cocaine — thought to be worth around €1.7 million — in luggage. They were stopped at the international airport’s Air Europa counter.
The most recent Honorary Consul for Ireland in Peru Michael Russell, who finished his term at the end of July, said if the two girls are charged for carrying half the cocaine each and found guilty, they will be facing a sentence of about seven years.
Mr Russell added that the pair are likely to get parole after doing about a third of their term and would have to finish their sentence in their home countries, if at all.
“However, if they are charged with 11 kilos as a conspiracy then they could be looking anywhere from 15 to 25 and you have serve at least half and sometimes full sentence,” he said in an interview with RTÉ Radio.
Under Peruvian law, the pair can be held for up to 15 days without charge.
Ms McCollum Connolly was at the centre of a Facebook and online social media appeal, backed by Irish sports stars, desperately seeking information about her whereabouts over the past two weeks.
Her family said they had not heard anything from her in 12 days. Diplomats have confirmed they are helping an Irish woman and a British woman arrested in Peru over alleged drug trafficking offences.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was also providing consular assistance to the family of an Irish woman being held in Peru on suspicion of drug trafficking offences.
The British Foreign Office in London confirmed it was helping a British national. “We are aware of the arrest of a British national in Peru this week and are providing consular assistance,” a spokeswoman said.
Ms McCollum Connolly, a photography student, had gone to San Antonio in Ibiza in June on a working holiday. She was looking for work as a dancer and nightclub hostess. Her family said she usually phoned home every two to three days and they became concerned when she had fallen out of contact.
Ms McCollum Connolly and Ms Reid were detained at the Jorge Chavez International airport as they tried to board a flight to Madrid, which was travelling on to Palma Mallorca, police in Peru said.
Ms Reid’s family is reported to be in shock after learning about her arrest. Her father William (66) spoke to the Sunday Mail from their family home near Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire.
He said: “We don’t know anything, we haven’t been told anything. “We don’t have any new information. We are not in a position to elaborate. “We’re in the position where we are just trying to come to terms with it.” He told the paper it was “too early” to say whether any of the family would travel to Peru.