Small

---

On Social Media -Michaella McCollum seems to be confident, even comfortable, in the Spotlight - But in Real Life it seems to be a different story.

The former drug-mule seems to be fragile.

The 26-year-old takes a strange kind of semi-celebrity status. More Than 28,000 people who follow her private Instagram account, snap familiar to many prospective factors of influence - a mixture of pouting selfies, glam holiday shots and nice pictures of her-year-old twins. But she is also often featured in the gossip pages of Newspapers in tabloid Format.

her smile is warm, if somewhat nervous, and her voice is soft. She pushes her long blond hair out of his eyes at regular intervals while we are talking about video-chat from their home in Northern Ireland , during their babies' nap-time.

The discomfort, you could be due to the fact McCollum is better known as one of the Two Women arrested trying to smuggle £1. 5m worth of cocaine in Ibiza in 2013.

Michaella McCollum (left) and her fellow drug mule Melissa Reid (right), were arrested at Lima airport in August 2013, McCollum and The Woman arrested with her, and Melissa Reid , it quickly became famous and notorious. Pictures of the couple looking shocked When customs officers arrest them in The Middle of Lima 's crowded airport were everywhere.

people That are discussed on Social Media , whether they looked like, sorry for your crime, while you wondered how to get Two 20-year-old to go Party in Ibiza , mixed with an international drug-smuggling ring.

you looked so relatable, like someone you could meet on a Night Out on holiday. They claimed That they were naive, But were condemned for drug trafficking and spent More Than Two years in a series of grim cockroach-infested Peruvian prison.

McCollum was early release granted in 2016, and returned home, But her reputation followed her. As a convicted felon, she says, it was difficult to find work, make new friends and Relationships .

McCollum is Back Home now, after almost three years in prison in Peru , she feels "like everyone is judging her", and claims to rely on her experience, she has "trust issues".

your fellow inmates Reid has kept a relatively Low Profile , But McCollum has written a book about their experiences. She says the title, You'll Never see The Day See the light Again, this was a threat to her while she was in prison.

to Escape to Ibiza there were signs from the beginning That going to Ibiza was a bad idea, McCollum told beat Radio 1 News.

"I didn't know much about The Island . I had to escape from problems at home and wanted to, But she didn't know where. I would have been in bars and worked, and I like to celebrate, so When I saw people on Facebook saying That they were going to, That 's where I got the idea. I thought I had a really good summer. "

a one-way ticket bought. It was left for the First Time , the United Kingdom and her mother and Sisters - they came in a 10 - to see her The Day before she went "hysterical".

"I was like, 'Why are you so dramatic?'.

"they told me afterwards, they had a feeling That something is about to happen, That I should not go," she says.

On The Day of your escape McCollum forget your passport and it was too late. Once you got to The Airport it became clear to her, she had not passport, to your boarding and was fined by the airline. Then her hand Luggage was too heavy, and was fined again.

"I thought it was bad luck," she says.

McCollum (left) grew up as one of 10 siblings in a close family, The way you says it, McCollum was on the run from her life in Northern Ireland . In the book she describes Growing Up under the gambling, drugs, death threats against your Catholic family and an abusive boyfriend.

McCollum claims, even though they wanted the more personal details section of the book, for fear she would give her "more vulnerable", she was convinced it would help the people, "the connection with the person That she was, at the time".

But this is not a commandment, people feel sympathy For You , she says.

"He was never there for me to play The Victim . It is easy to give people the whole picture of who I was. Of course, everyone can have an opinion of me going to Ibiza and Peru , But I would have gone through some things in life, which led me to this point.

"in Moscow If I had, in drugs, in young years I have not gone definitely Ibiza - or continues to take drugs, or have myself in this situation. "

A terrible decision.

McCollum says she was at a party, high on acid, the psychedelic drug LSD, When a new friend asked, "go on a trip to pick up a package" in Barcelona.

you now writes That it was the "worst decision of My Life " and says That her thinking was confused at the time. She knew she didn't want to go back to Northern Ireland and the £5,000 they offered, seemed like a ticket to a new life. She told Newsbeat That she thought That she would be the transportation of drugs, But no idea of the extent of the operation had, they would part.

everything after That happened pretty fast. In the book she recalls a drug-fuelled pit-stop for Breakfast at McDonald's, writing: "Of everything I've done, everything I regret, sniffing Class A drugs, which is a table of McDonald's Up There . But That 's hindsight For You . "

Before she had time to be completely sober-until you get found yourself on a plane to Mallorca. The Plan had Changed - it was Barcelona, their Final Destination was Peru , with a few days stopover on the neighbouring Balearic island.

was Once in Mallorca, it was introduced to Reid and the couple spent was planned several days in A House full of guns and strangers who booked ab flights to Lima - Peru 's Capital - where it is, the drug would pick up.

"I really didn't know where Peru was, But I don't think it was in South America . I had never heard of it. I was told the First Time I went to Barcelona, And Then in Mallorca, I thought That in Peru there was, somewhere in Spain. I know it is so stupid, But I just don't know really. I had not traveled. "

McCollum says she "asks all the time", why don't you go away from the drug Deal , The Truth dawned on her finally goal, as, concerned about how long The Flight took off, she asked The Man in the seat next to you for the information about your destination. It was in this moment, you, her "heart dropped". Enough movies had been watched to know That South America was associated with serious drug-crime.

When they arrived, and they saw The Level of security and the military presence at The Airport , she began downright "freaked out".

So, why don't you try to escape? After All , it was just her and Reid alone in Peru , disguised as tourists for several days.

"It's something I ask myself all the time," says McCollum.

It is true That your Spanish contacts had taken their personal cell phones and told them they were being watched, But she had no interactions with other persons, until the drugs delivered to your hotel on the Last Night .

It was only When you saw how they bring in the amount That you were meant to go back to-to sink in That the reality began, she claims.

"saw Than I have, how much drugs were there, I got more and more scared, because I realized That was a really big Deal . Until then, I thought I was just doing something Small , this is still a great thing - But it is about 38 packages total. It was a real shock.

"I was scared and thought," I just want it over and Back Home '. I don't know what would have happened if I had just walked away, maybe nothing. But I wish I listened To My gut feeling and walked away. "

" Mama. I am not in prison' you.

Instead, along with Reid, they Packed their bags with 11kg of cocaine hidden in cereal packets, and after a fearful night, went in the direction of the check-in queue at The Airport in Lima . It didn't take long, and they were surrounded by sniffer dogs and police, who accompanied her in an adjoining room. After The Test on the drugs in Reid's case, came back positive, her fate was sealed.

"The whole room broke," McCollum recalls. "Within minutes it was filled with 30 or 40 people. Because I realized it was over. I felt numb, I didn't move or say much. I still couldn't believe it was me in this situation. "

It is not clear, McCollum will find it easy to re-live this experience. She often looks on the verge of tears during our conversation. "We were like deer in the headlights," she says quietly.

Both her and Reid then endure "really, really terrible looking", and were chained to metal chairs for 24 hours of questions, what was in store For You . The couple, whose personalities had clashed up to this point, suddenly found themselves connected by their shared nightmare.

Sat in the court handcuffed together in December 2013, McCollum and Reid were arrested, Six Years after he was found guilty of drug trafficking.

follow news beat, and.

peru, drugs trade, long reads, ibiza

Source of news: bbc.com