Peru Two drugs mule Michaella McCollum celebrates her first year of being free, partying in Ibiza with friends
Drugs mule flew to Ibiza for a sunny break - where she became involved in plot to smuggle £1.5m in cocaine into Spain
PERU Two drugs mule Michaella McCollum has celebrated a year of freedom by returning to the scene of the crime to party with pals in Ibiza.
The 24-year-old was spotted soaking up the sun with a female friend after jetting to the party island on Monday afternoon.
She was jailed in Peru four years ago for her failed attempt to smuggle the cocaine worth £1.15m into Europe with pal Melissa Reid.
The model spent three years inside a mosquito-infested cell with seven other women for the offence.
Now McCollum has celebrated one year of freedom by returning to the scene of crime.
She was spotted sunbathing, snapping selfies and taking a dip in the ocean.
McCollum, one half of the notorious “Peru Two” along with accomplice Melissa Reid, broke her silence after having returned home to Northern Ireland last year.
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She took to Facebook and wrote: “It has been a long ride to get where I am today but it just shows that when we fight hard enough for something we can achieve it.
“Something to have in mind; when one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
She added: “Now that I have the chance, I just want to thank everyone who has supported myself and family through these past few years. Please know I truly appreciate each one who cared and had my back.”
McCollum has said she was on a four-day ketamine and magic mushroom-fuelled bender in Ibiza when she decided to smuggle cocaine into Spain.
After a “Cockney guy Jake” offered to help her make money, she agreed and began her £4,000 task.
She met fellow mule Reid in Majorca at the airport, and the pair flew to Lima posing as tourists, even visiting popular tourist destination Machu Picchu as part of the ruse.
They then picked up 32 packets of cocaine and packed them inside their suitcases.
The pair didn’t get far however – a plain-clothes police officer searched their bags at Lima’s Jorge Chavez International Airport, and the gig was up.
After realising she could end up in jail for 15 years if found guilty, McCollum came clean, admitting she had not been forced to carry the drugs.
As she gained the loyalty of her fellow prisoners, McCollum also received romantic attention from men and women alike.
She claims she received nearly 500 love letters in her time at the jail – and one marriage proposal.
Another enamoured admirer sent her eight kittens, which she was forced to give back.
She was initially required to stay in Peru, where she worked as a volunteer, before being permitted to go home.
Reid was also released from prison last year and flew back home to Scotland shortly after her June release.
Her honesty paid off – she received six years and eight months instead, which was cut short.
As she gained the loyalty of her fellow prisoners, McCollum also received romantic attention from men and women alike.
One enamoured admirer sent her eight kittens, which she was forced to give back.
McCollum was snapped sunning herself on a beach in Spain in February – in what was her first trip to the country in four years.
She was spotted walking along the golden sands in Marbella, enjoying herself in the sea.
In February, she spoke out for the first time since returning home to Northern Ireland.
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