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Europe

British drug mule expelled from Peru after prison release

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Melissa Reid, of Britain, center, walks next to her father William Reid, second right, before boarding a flight in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. Reid who was deported from Peru, along with Irish-born Michaella McCollum, was detained on Aug. 6, 2013, at Lima's airport for allegedly trying to smuggle cocaine on a flight to Spain. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) (The Associated Press)

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    Image 2 of 3

    Melissa Reid, of Britain, center, walks before boarding a flight in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. Reid was deported from Peru, along with Irish-born Michaella McCollum, after being detained on Aug. 6, 2013, at Lima's airport for allegedly trying to smuggle cocaine on a flight to Spain. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) (The Associated Press)

  • 42e1b2c9-
    Image 3 of 3

    Melissa Reid, of Britain, walks next to her father William Reid, before boarding a flight in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. Reid was deported from Peru, along with Irish-born Michaella McCollum, after being detained on Aug. 6, 2013, at Lima's airport for allegedly trying to smuggle cocaine on a flight to Spain. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) (The Associated Press)

LIMA, Peru – A British drug mule convicted in Peru for trying to smuggle cocaine hidden in bags of mayonnaise is being expelled following her release from prison.

Melissa Reid of Scotland was preparing to board an Amsterdam-bound flight Tuesday night in Lima's international airport. She and an Irish-born Michaella McCollum plead guilty in 2013 of trying to smuggle onto an airplane about 12 kilograms of cocaine worth almost $1 million.

The 22-year-old was released under a Peruvian law allowing first-time drug offenders to walk free for good behavior after completing a third of their sentence. McCollum was paroled in April and remains in Peru.

Their case attracted widespread attention in the UK. About 90 percent of the 1,809 foreigners in Peru's prisons are either sentenced or awaiting trials for drug trafficking.

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