Peru Two drug mule Michaella McCollum has revealed she was nearly murdered in prison – because she changed the TV channel.
The Northern Irish ex-convict served more than two years in the maximum security Ancon prison after she and pal Melissa Reid were caught trying to smuggle £ 1.5million worth of cocaine out of capital city Lima.
McCollum, now a 25 – year-old mum- of-two, has opened up about life inside the prison – where she said life was cheap and drug abuse, hunger and violence were rife.
Incredibly, she reveals in theMail on Sunday, she did not know where Peru was when she was recruited to do a drug run – and only learned it was in South America once she was on the plane.
She had been recruited by a Londoner named Davey while working as a waitress in Ibiza before a Columbian called Mateo assigned the duo to bring the 11 kg of cocaine back.
In return, he told her, she would be paid £ 5, 000.
In Peru she and Reid picked up the drugs, hidden inside porridge packets and soya sachets, having been assured that they would not be stopped at the airport because officials had been bribed.
However when her co-conspirator was stopped after McCollum successfully walked past a sniffer dog on August 6 , 2013, their fate was sealed.
She wrote that she was “hung out to dry by a bunch of gangsters and the Peruvian justice system”.
After being jailed in a case which attracted worldwide attention, she quickly came to learn the harsh realities of life behind bars.
She said a fellow inmate once warned her to “look out” – and she realized a prisoner named Danielle – who had mental health problems – was holding a knife above her head ready to strike.
Danielle was apparently incensed after McCollum changed the TV channel.
McCollum wrote: “What does it matter to Danielle if she kills me? She’s in here for life anyway. “
Thankfully another prisoner was able to wrestle her to the ground before she could land what would have been a fatal blow.
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In her book You’ll Never See Daylight Again, which is published at the end of the month, McCollum recounts how she got involved in smuggling as a 20 – year-old.
She claimed that drugs were so freely available in Ibiza that customers would order cocaine or ecstasy with their meals while she was waitressing.
Drug dealer Davey promised to pay her well for doing ‘runs’ to mainland Spain and bringing back illegal substances.
Before she could do her first trip to Barcelona, she was introduced to Mateo and the plan changed dramatically.
She was told she would be heading for Peru, which she thought was a city in Spain.
It was before they set off that she was introduced to Reid, and the duo waited at the home of a gang member.
They were stunned to discover drawers full of guns and passports, McCollum wrote.
Reid left before she did, and it was only while on the flight to Peru that a man next to her revealed she was heading for South America.
They were instructed to visit tourist sites and take pictures as part of their cover, before picking up the drugs.
It was at this point that she realized how serious their predicament was.
She wrote: “Davey’s Colombian friend might have paid a few guards to turn a blind eye, but you’d need to bribe the whole airport to get this amount through. “
After their arrest at the Jorge Chavez International Airport , both women were sentenced to six years in prison in December 2013.
McCollum was released on March 31 2016, and returned to Ireland in August that year.
She is set to profit from sales of her tell-all book, and has reportedly held talks about turning it into a TV series.
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