Drug Mule Freed In Peru Gives First Interview

A young woman who became known as one of the 'Peru Two' after being arrested for drugs smuggling has insisted she is a "good person" after her release from jail.

Michaella McCollum, from Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, was freed on parole on Thursday after serving more than two years in prison in South America.

McCollum and Melissa Reid, from Scotland, were sentenced in 2013 to six years and eight months in jail after admitting trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5m to Spain from Peru.

In her first interview since being released, the 23-year-old said: "I've forgotten the things that everybody takes for granted in life.

"Seeing the sun, seeing the darkness, seeing the moon and the stars, things I haven't seen in almost three years."

McCollum was freed early after two years and three months inside as a result of new prison legislation introduced in Peru last year.

It is expected she will have to remain in Peru for several more years as part of her parole conditions.

Reid remains in prison in Peru.

She has been seeking to serve the remainder of her sentence closer to home in Scotland, but has not yet been given the go-ahead.

McCollum told a documentary due to be aired on RTE One on Sunday night that she recognised the damage she could have caused.

probably would have had a lot of blood on my hands," she said.

"I potentially could have filled Europe full of a lot of drugs.

"I could have potentially killed a lot of people, not directly but I could have caused a lot of harm to people."

She added: "I made a decision in a moment of madness. I'm not a bad person. I want to demonstrate that I'm a good person."

McCollum, from Dungannon, and Reid, from Glasgow, were working in Ibiza when they claim they were forced to board a flight with 24lb of cocaine in food packets hidden inside their luggage.

They were caught with the haul at Lima airport on 6 August, 2013, attempting to fly to Spain.

They had claimed they were forced to carry the drugs but pleaded guilty to charges later that year.

The pair had previously been held at Virgen de Fatima prison but were later moved to the Ancon 2 jail, where conditions are said to be cramped, with poor sanitation and toilet facilities.