Michaella McCollum, one half of the pair dubbed the Peru Two, has spoken of her transformation since being jailed for attempting to smuggle £1.5m worth of cocaine out of Peru in 2013. Now 28 and a mother of two, McCollum reflects on her journey in a new five-part documentary, describing the person she was then as someone she can no longer relate to.
McCollum and Melissa Reid, both aged 20 at the time, were arrested at Lima's Jorge Chavez International Airport on 6 August 2013. The pair had been paired up by criminals and pleaded guilty to drug smuggling, receiving sentences of over six years in the notorious Ancon 2 prison. They were released early in 2016.
In an interview with BBC Three, McCollum said her time inside was instrumental in shaping who she is today. 'Those three years in prison did so much to make me the person I am now, with the mindset and morals I have now,' she said. She also described her views on drugs as having 'massively changed', adding that she now wishes she had received better drug education as a young person.
Recalling her state of mind at 19, McCollum admitted she was 'very naive' and ignored her instincts. 'I had a gut feeling it was wrong, and I ignored it,' she said. Once in Peru, she became frightened of the cartel members she met, believing she was being watched at all times, and felt unable to walk away.
McCollum said prison taught her to stand up for herself, which is why she ran a beauty salon and became a prisoner delegate. She also felt her prison experience was 'over-glamorised by the press', which missed the point of her efforts to prove her own strength.
