A SCOTS teenager faces an agonising wait in a Peruvian jail for alleged drug smuggling as the date for her first court appearance is still to be set.
Melissa Reid, from Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire, and Michaella McCollum Connolly, from Northern Ireland, are expected to appear in court in Peru's capital Lima over the next week where they will be formally charged and sent to Santa Monica women's prison in the outskirts of the city.
Ms Reid, 19, a former call centre worker who went to Ibiza for the summer in June, is being held in a police holding cell on cocaine smuggling charges with Ms Connolly, 20, who had been working on the island as a nightclub dancer. Both have claimed they were forced at gunpoint to attempt to smuggle drugs out of Peru after being held captive in Spain for a number of days.
Ms Reid's parents, meanwhile, said they were preparing to fly out to Lima to see their daughter.
William Reid, 53, said: "From what her friends and Melissa have been able to tell us, she was introduced to a group of men who she socialised with and this escalated to her being forced to carry out this journey.
"They came into her flat and told her to pack a bag. She didn't know where she was going. My daughter would 100% not have gone willingly. This is completely out of character. She was coerced into it."
East Dunbartonshire MP Jo Swinson was seeking reassurances from the Foreign Office that the family were being helped, saying she was "deeply concerned".
"Naturally, this is a very distressing time for Melissa and her family, who are of course worried about her welfare," she said.
"I have sought reassurances from the Foreign Office that the family are receiving ongoing support, both here and in Peru, and I have asked to be kept informed of how things progress."
Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday Ms Reid would get support from officials in Peru.
Mr Cameron said: "She will get full consular assistance, but I can't say anything other than that."
It is understood a British police officer and a British embassy official based in Lima have visited the pair.
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