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Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Health
- Scottish Sun
Peru Two's Michaella McCullum soaks in the Benidorm sun after telling of prison ‘horrors' awaiting Brit ‘smugglers'
McCollum says young Brits 'won't survive' prison as she recalls maggot-infested meals and cockroach-covered tables WISH PERU WERE HERE WISH PERU WERE HERE Peru Two's Michaella McCullum soaks in the Benidorm sun after telling of prison 'horrors' awaiting Brit 'smugglers' PERU Two's Michaella McCollum has been spotted soaking up the sun in Benidorm — just days after warning that Brit 'smugglers' Bella Culley and Charlotte Lee could face 'prison horrors' she wouldn't survive. The 31-year-old convicted drug mule was seen in a pink Louis Vuitton bikini enjoying the beach in Spain. 10 Peru Two's Michaella McCollum cools off in the sea in Benidorm Credit: Splash 10 The convicted drug mule shows off her curves after recent a boob job Credit: Splash 10 Michaella plays with a beach ball while soaking up the Spanish sunshine Credit: Splash 10 McCollum served three years in a hellish jail after smuggling £1.5million of cocaine into Peru in 2013 Credit: Splash The mum-of-two, who had a boob job at the end of last year, was pictured cooling off in the sea and playing with a ball on the sand. McCollum served three years in a hellish jail near Lima after she and pal Melissa Reid were busted smuggling £1.5million of cocaine into Peru in 2013. Now, after carving out a new life as a public speaker and influencer, she has opened up about her time behind bars — and issued a chilling warning to 18-year-old Culley and 21-year-old Lee. 'I could not do 20 years in a prison like that. I just couldn't. And that's what those girls are facing,' she said. Culley was caught earlier this month with a 31lb stash of cannabis and hashish at Tbilisi airport in Georgia — and told a court she's pregnant. She's being held in a Soviet-style clink ringed by watchtowers. Lee, from south London, is locked up in Sri Lanka after two suitcases packed with 46kg of super-strength kush were allegedly found in her hotel room. The potent synthetic drug is 25 times stronger than fentanyl. Friends say she's been denied medicine and is forced to 'have a glass of water poured over her head' to clean herself. Brit 'drug mule' Charlotte May Lee, 21, tears up as cops wheel £1.2m kush haul into court she 'didn't know was in case' 10 Michaella McCollum (L) entering the Sarita Colonia jail with a police escort in October, 2013 Credit: EPA 10 View of the containment areas of the Ancon 2 prison, where McCollum served her sentence Credit: AFP McCollum compared their ordeals to her own — and said she 'couldn't imagine' how pregnancy would complicate Culley's ordeal. 'As a mum, I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to give birth in that sort of place, and to potentially have the child taken from you and put into care,' she said. 'That adds a whole new, terrifying, dimension. It's just incredibly sad.' Reflecting on her arrest at 19, McCollum said: 'The situation was almost exactly the same. 'Her mum had reported her missing, then it emerged that she'd been arrested. 'There were such parallels with my case – except it was just in a different country.' She added: 'They are 19 and 21. Whatever they have done, it's so young to be caught up in something like this, and I know what they are going to go through. 'And their families. It's the worst thing anybody can have to face.' 10 Bella May Culley was arrested on drug offences in Georgia Credit: Facebook 10 Bella pictured in court in Tbilisi after she was detained at the city's airport Credit: East2West Lee claimed she was duped by a mysterious Brit called 'Dan' who bought her a flight to Sri Lanka from Thailand — and then vanished. McCollum said she was also coerced — offered £5,000 to carry the drugs and manipulated by older men. 'At the time I was so high (on cocaine) that I could barely walk. Yet the men around me were all sober,' she said. 'I thought they were my friends, but actually they didn't give a s**t about me.' She added: 'It's easy to look at girls like this and think 'how could you be so stupid?' but I look back at myself and think exactly that. 'The vast majority were the victims of some sort of coercion, usually by men. 'Prisons all over the world are full of women who have been caught up in something like this.' The once notorious mule has now written a book, starred in a Netflix doc, and works with police to warn teens off drugs. With an estimated net worth close to £1million, she says: 'Even £50,000 isn't enough. No amount of money is worth your freedom.' 10 Part-time beautician Charlotte was arrested on May 12 after stepping off a flight to Sri Lanka from Thailand Credit: Sri Lanka Police
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Health
- The Irish Sun
Peru Two's Michaella McCullum soaks in the Benidorm sun after telling of prison ‘horrors' awaiting Brit ‘smugglers'
PERU Two's Michaella McCollum has been spotted soaking up the sun in Benidorm — just days after warning that Brit 'smugglers' Bella Culley and Charlotte Lee could face 'prison horrors' she wouldn't survive. The 31-year-old convicted drug mule was seen in a pink Louis Vuitton bikini enjoying the beach in Spain. Advertisement 10 Peru Two's Michaella McCollum cools off in the sea in Benidorm Credit: Splash 10 The convicted drug mule shows off her curves after recent a boob job Credit: Splash 10 Michaella plays with a beach ball while soaking up the Spanish sunshine Credit: Splash 10 McCollum served three years in a hellish jail after smuggling £1.5million of cocaine into Peru in 2013 Credit: Splash The mum-of-two, who had a boob job at the end of last year, was pictured cooling off in the sea and playing with a ball on the sand. McCollum served three years in a hellish jail near Lima after she and pal Melissa Reid were busted smuggling £1.5million of cocaine into Now, after carving out a new life as a public speaker and influencer, she has opened up about her time behind bars — and 'I could not do 20 years in a prison like that. I just couldn't. And that's what those girls are facing,' she said. Advertisement Read more world news Culley was caught earlier this month with a 31lb stash of cannabis and hashish at Tbilisi airport in Georgia — and told a court she's pregnant. She's being held in a Soviet-style clink ringed by watchtowers. Lee, from south London, is locked up in Sri Lanka after two suitcases packed with 46kg of super-strength kush were allegedly found in her hotel room. The potent synthetic drug is 25 times stronger than fentanyl. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Breaking Exclusive Friends say she's been denied medicine and is forced to 'have a glass of water poured over her head' to clean herself. Brit 'drug mule' Charlotte May Lee, 21, tears up as cops wheel £1.2m kush haul into court she 'didn't know was in case' 10 Michaella McCollum (L) entering the Sarita Colonia jail with a police escort in October, 2013 Credit: EPA 10 View of the containment areas of the Ancon 2 prison, where McCollum served her sentence Credit: AFP McCollum compared their ordeals to her own — and said she 'couldn't imagine' how pregnancy would complicate Culley's ordeal. Advertisement 'As a mum, I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to give birth in that sort of place, and to potentially have the child taken from you and put into care,' she said. 'That adds a whole new, terrifying, dimension. It's just incredibly sad.' Reflecting on her arrest at 19, McCollum said: 'The situation was almost exactly the same. 'Her mum had reported her missing, then it emerged that she'd been arrested. Advertisement 'There were such parallels with my case – except it was just in a different country.' She added: 'They are 19 and 21. Whatever they have done, it's so young to be caught up in something like this, and I know what they are going to go through. 'And their families. It's the worst thing anybody can have to face.' 10 Bella May Culley was arrested on drug offences in Georgia Credit: Facebook Advertisement 10 Bella pictured in court in Tbilisi after she was detained at the city's airport Credit: East2West Lee claimed she was duped by a mysterious Brit called 'Dan' who bought her a flight to Sri Lanka from Thailand — and then vanished. McCollum said she was also coerced — offered £5,000 to carry the drugs and manipulated by older men. 'At the time I was so high (on cocaine) that I could barely walk. Yet the men around me were all sober,' she said. Advertisement 'I thought they were my friends, but actually they didn't give a s**t about me.' She added: 'It's easy to look at girls like this and think 'how could you be so stupid?' but I look back at myself and think exactly that. 'The vast majority were the victims of some sort of coercion, usually by men. 'Prisons all over the world are full of women who have been caught up in something like this.' Advertisement The once notorious mule has now written a book, starred in a Netflix doc, and works with police to warn teens off drugs. With an estimated net worth close to £1million, she says: 'Even £50,000 isn't enough. No amount of money is worth your freedom.' 10 Part-time beautician Charlotte was arrested on May 12 after stepping off a flight to Sri Lanka from Thailand Credit: Sri Lanka Police 10 Charlotte formerly worked as an air stewardess Credit: Tim Stewart Advertisement
Sunday World
a day ago
- General
- Sunday World
OnlyFans model allegedly caught with 'vacuum-packed' drugs haul on flight
Ciara Wilson is just the most recent British female smuggler to have been accused of illegally transporting drugs worth thousands of pounds An OnlyFans model has been accused of trying to smuggle '60 vacuum-packed packages' of Thai cannabis into Spain. Clara Wilson (36) is facing four years behind bars and potential fines of over £750,000 if she is found guilty. The unemployed mum-of-four has been charged with drug offences after more than £200k worth of cannabis was allegedly discovered in her two suitcases at El Prat airport in Barcelona. Wilson, from Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire, was held by the Civil Guard on January 20 after flying into the Spanish city on a Qatar Airways flight from Bangkok stops in both India and Qatar. Clara Wilson She was taken into custody at a prison near Barcelona two days after her arrest, where she awaits a trial. According to a three-page indictment see by The Sun, 'police found 60 vacuum-packed packages containing a green-coloured substance that tested positive for marijuana'. 'The substance weighed 34,074 grams', in suitcases Wilson had previously checked in. It added: 'A subsequent analysis by the National Toxicology Institute of a 55-gram sample of the substance confirmed it as cannabis.' Clara Wilson News in 90 Seconds - 3rd June 2025 Public prosecutors believe the drugs were being shipped into Spain by Wilson where It would be sold to third parties on the black market'. They said its value would have been €213,991 (£180,820.26). Ms Wilson is just the most recent British female smuggler who have been accused of illegally transporting drugs worth thousands of pounds. Bella May Culley Bella May Culley (18) sparked a massive international search operation in after she was reported missing while she was believed to be holidaying in Thailand. However, the teen, from Billingham, County Durham, later emerged 4,000 miles away in Georgia where she had allegedly being caught carrying 30 pounds (of cannabis into the former Soviet nation. Meanwhile, Charlotte May Lee (21) from Coulsdon, south London, is facing 25 years locked in a hellhole Sri Lankan jail after police allegedly discovered 46kg of 'Kush' - a synthetic strain of cannabis - in her suitcase Michaela McCollum, of the infamous Peru Two, has spoken about what she sees as similarities in both cases to her own particularly that of Culley, who has told the court in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi that she is pregnant. McCollum at the time of her arrest Ms McCollum, from Dungannon in Co Tyrone, and Scotswoman Melissa Reid, both served just over two years in prison after they were caught with 12kg of cocaine in Lima airport in August 2013. Reid was released from prison in June 2016 and immediately returned to Britain, while McCollum arrive back to Dublin airport in August of that year. McCollum and Reid who had never met prior to their arrest, say that they were coerced into smuggling the cocaine while working in Ibiza. Charlotte May Lee Referring to Culley, McCollum told MailOnline: 'Her mum had reported her missing, then it emerged that she'd been arrested. 'There were such parallels with my case – except it was just in a different country. I couldn't help but feel bad for them. 'Whatever they have done, it's so young to be caught up in something like this, and I know what they are going to go through. And their families. It's the worst thing anybody can have to face.' 'As a mum, I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to give birth in that sort of place, and to potentially have the child taken from you and put into care,' she added about the case of Ms Culley. "That adds a whole new, terrifying, dimension. It's just incredibly sad. 'I don't know the circumstances in detail here,' she added, 'but I do know that of all the women I came across who had been involved in drug smuggling, only about 10% were doing it as a business, who knew the risks and accepted them,' she said. 'The vast majority were the victims of some sort of coercion, usually by men. Prisons all over the world are full of women who have been caught up in something like this. And the men at the top rarely get caught. 'The men who pulled all the strings in my case were never held to account.'
Extra.ie
5 days ago
- Extra.ie
Peru Two's Michaella McCollum opens up on terrifying prison conditions
Michaella McCollum has spoken about her experience in a Peruvian prison, after two girls were arrested abroad for drug trafficking. Ms McCollum, from Dungannon in Co Tyrone, was arrested alongside Scotswoman Melissa Reid after the pair, who became known as 'The Peru Two,' were caught with 12kg of cocaine. They both served just over two years in prison, with Ms Reid being expelled to Scotland and Ms McCollum returning to Ireland two months later. Following the arrests of two girls abroad in unrelated cases for trying to smuggle cannabis and kush, a synthetic drug which can be more powerful than fentanyl, Ms McCollum has spoken about her experience in the Peru prison, including eating maggot-filled paella and the extreme conditions she faced. Michaella McCollum has spoken about her experience in a Peruvian prison, after two girls were arrested for drug trafficking. Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/REX 'I remember how I'd lay all the rice out, to see which grains I could eat and which were maggots,' Ms McCollum told the Daily Mail. 'Back home, it was reported that I'd gone on hunger strike, but I hadn't.' She also spoke about how her mother would have to wait hours in the Peruvian heat with bags of food for her daughter, with her adding that she would have to flick cockroaches away while eating chicken — something that she grew accustomed to during her time behind bars, but is horrified by now. 'She'd bring a whole chicken, which I'd eat with my fingers, and there would be cockroaches climbing up onto the table and I'd just flick them away. I mean, they didn't even bother me, by then,' she said. 'You become so used to it. And I suppose there is a level of guilt and shame that you feel it's acceptable, even though it isn't.' Ms McCollum and Melissa Reid were arrested and served two years in Peruvian prison for smuggling 26kg of cocaine. Pic: REX Speaking on Charlotte Lee May, 21, who faces 20 years in Sri Lankan prison for smuggling 46kg of 'kush,' as well as Bella May Culley, 18, who ellegedly tried to smuggle 14kg of cannabis to Georgia, Ms McCollum saw the two girls as victims — particularly in Ms Culley's case after she told the court in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi that she was pregnant. 'The [Bella Culley] situation was almost exactly the same,' she said. 'Her mum had reported her missing, then it emerged that she'd been arrested. There were such parallels with my case – except it was just in a different country. I couldn't help but feel bad for them. Whatever they have done, it's so young to be caught up in something like this, and I know what they are going to go through. And their families. It's the worst thing anybody can have to face. 'As a mum, I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to give birth in that sort of place, and to potentially have the child taken from you and put into care,' she added about the case of Ms Culley. 'That adds a whole new, terrifying, dimension. It's just incredibly sad.' Ms McCollum and Ms Reid, who had never met prior to their arrest, say that they were coerced into smuggling the cocaine while working in Ibiza, but pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. They were sentenced to six years and eight months in prison but were both released after serving just shy of three years. Ms Culley and Ms Lee both face 20 years in prison for their alleged role in drug trafficking, with Ms McCollum adding that she believes they were also coerced into doing so. 'I don't know the circumstances in detail here, but I do know that of all the women I came across who had been involved in drug smuggling, only about 10% were doing it as a business, who knew the risks and accepted them,' she said. 'The vast majority were the victims of some sort of coercion, usually by men. Prisons all over the world are full of women who have been caught up in something like this. And the men at the top rarely get caught. The men who pulled all the strings in my case were never held to account.'
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Man dies 9 months after Lumberton shooting, police say
LUMBERTON, N.C. (WBTW) — A man left with life-threatening injuries after an August shooting in Lumberton has died, but police said Tuesday that an autopsy will be needed to determine whether his death was a direct result of injuries he suffered in the shooting. Lumberton police said hospital officials told them on Sunday that Zachery McCollum had died. The shooting happened on Aug. 16 in the 400 block of Sinclair Street. According to a GoFundMe page set up to help his family with funeral expenses, McCollum was paralyzed from the chest down after the shooting and had had many surgeries in the aftermath of the shooting. No one is in custody in connection with the shooting. A police spokesman said if an autopsy confirms that McCollum died from injuries directly related to the shooting, then the case would become a homicide. * * * Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
