Peru drugs mule Melissa Reid to ‘return to UK very soon’

She is expected not to have to spend the remainder of her sentence in prison in Scotland

Melissa Reid, cuffed, arrives at court at Sarita Colonia prison in Callao December 17, 2013 (Reuters)

Drugs mule Melissa Reid is set to return to the UK “very soon” after Peruvian authorities agreed to expel her from the country.

The 22-year-old has been seeking to serve the remainder of her six-year sentence closer to home in Scotland after she was jailed in 2013 for attempting to smuggle drugs into Spain.

Reid, from Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire in Scotland, and Michaella McCollum, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, were imprisoned for six years and eight months after admitting trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5 million from Peru to Spain.

A spokeswoman for the British embassy in Lima said Reid had been “granted expulsion back to the UK”, and would be returning “very soon”.

McCollum, 23, was freed last month under new legislation on early prison release introduced in Peru last year, after serving two years and three months.

It is anticipated she will have to remain in Peru for a considerable period as part of her parole conditions.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said it would only be notified of Reid's expulsion if she was set to serve the remainder of her sentence in Scotland.

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said: “We continue to provide consular assistance.”

McCollum and Reid were caught at Lima airport on August 6 2013 while attempting to fly to Spain with 24lb (11kg) of cocaine in food packets hidden inside their luggage.

Melissa Reid, right, and Michaella McCollum arrive for their court hearing in Lima (AP)

At the time, both claimed they were forced into carrying the drugs but pleaded guilty to charges later that year.

McCollum and Reid faced a maximum 15-year prison term but struck a behind-closed-doors plea to secure a shorter sentence.

They had previously been held at Lima's Virgen de Fatima prison but were moved to the Ancon 2 prison, where McCollum was reportedly crammed into a cell with 30 other prisoners with poor sanitation and toilet facilities.

Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid could be allowed to serve prison sentences in the UK if they plead guilty to drug trafficking (Getty Images)

The SPS agreed in principle to a transfer in 2014 and Reid has been awaiting approval from the Peruvian authorities, who need to consent to her serving the remainder of her sentence under Scottish law.

Reid's father Billy said: “It's horrendous to see your daughter in handcuffs and the living conditions that she has to put up with. Melissa has spent her own 20th and 21st birthdays in prison in Peru.

“She missed the significant event of her only brother's wedding. Events such as Christmas are non-existent for us. There'll be no celebrations in our house, there'll be no Christmas tree until we get her back home.”

Mr Reid spoke out in a video warning of the consequences of drug offences abroad.

A spokesman for the FCO said that “no decision” had been reached yet but they were expecting one this week. He added: “We are still waiting to hear a decision from the judge.”

PA