Drug mule Michaella McCollum 'still in danger' after release from Peru prison hell, warns priest

McCollum 'needs to be careful who she associates now she is free'

The 23-year-old was released last week having served more than two years after admitting trying to smuggle £1.5m-worth of cocaine out of South America

Drug mule Michaella McCollum's life is still in danger, despite being released from her Peruvian prison hell, a priest has warned.

Father Maurice Foley, who was previously based in Lima, said the 23-year-old needs to be careful who she associates now she is free.

McCollum was released last week having served more than two years in a hellhole prison after admitting trying to smuggle £1.5million worth of cocaine out of the South American country.

Fr Foley visited McCollum and Scottish inmate Melissa Reid in prison after their arrest, reports Belfast Live.

He warned: “If she makes false moves or doubtful relationships, she could be putting herself at risk. If she watches over herself, she’ll be OK.”

McCollum and Reid were caught with the haul at Lima airport in August 2013 as they attempted to board a flight to Spain.

They claimed they were forced into carrying the drugs but pleaded guilty to charges later that year.

Fr Foley said he sent three Colombian missionaries to visit McCollum and Reid after hearing of their arrest.

His first visit to McCollum came a month after she was put in prison.

The pair 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.

Fr Maurice Foley told RTE Radio 1’s Sean O’Rourke Show about he was amazed at how she picked up Spanish.

He said: “It was a tougher regime in the prison that they had in the north of Lima but she bore up very well in the circumstances.

“One of the things that helped her was that she started learning Spanish. When I first met her, she was going around with a little dictionary trying to find out the meaning of words.

Drug mule Michaella McCollum's life is still in danger, despite being released from her Peruvian prison hell, a priest has warned.

Father Maurice Foley, who was previously based in Lima, said the 23-year-old needs to be careful who she associates now she is free.

McCollum was released last week having served more than two years in a hellhole prison after admitting trying to smuggle £1.5million worth of cocaine out of the South American country.

Fr Foley visited McCollum and Scottish inmate Melissa Reid in prison after their arrest, reports Belfast Live.

He warned: “If she makes false moves or doubtful relationships, she could be putting herself at risk. If she watches over herself, she’ll be OK.”

McCollum and Reid were caught with the haul at Lima airport in August 2013 as they attempted to board a flight to Spain.

They claimed they were forced into carrying the drugs but pleaded guilty to charges later that year.

Fr Foley said he sent three Colombian missionaries to visit McCollum and Reid after hearing of their arrest.

His first visit to McCollum came a month after she was put in prison.

The pair 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.

Fr Maurice Foley told RTE Radio 1’s Sean O’Rourke Show about he was amazed at how she picked up Spanish.

He said: “It was a tougher regime in the prison that they had in the north of Lima but she bore up very well in the circumstances.

“One of the things that helped her was that she started learning Spanish. When I first met her, she was going around with a little dictionary trying to find out the meaning of words.

 “When I came back a year later, she was speaking Spanish. She was enunciating her ideas without any bother, I was amazed.

 “She picked it up like as if it was very easy. Michaella was remorseful about what she had done. That’s why I was very happy to hear that she was released.

“With the mental capacity that she has, she can be a very useful person in society.”

He felt that from meeting her that McCollum had turned her life around saying: “I’d like to affirmative and very definite about this.

“I have no idea what she is going to do in the future. All the indications I got from meeting her for so many times was that she was going to a much better person. What she’s going to do in the future depends on her.”