So that woman who went missing in Ibiza

[brokencrossbar1]

How do you know all this?

Why wouldn't it be plausible? In terms of wages they wouldn't get a wile lot of money when working in an airport, getting paid to let ones through and catch others would be as said a win win for everyone concerned.

The drug dealers are telling the girls the truth, the workers are paid off to let people through, just left out the bit that they will let the other ones through instead.

I still don't think they are "drugged", they are talking well (not slurred) they are making sense and whispering among themselves

Why let them find 11kg of very valuable coke when 1kg would achieve the same result? It doesn't add up.

It's about PR, better to have $1m worth of drugs off the street that €100k.  I'll tell you what doesn't add up is the amount of 'coverage' of the arrest and the recording of conversations and 'interviews' with the girls.  Something stinks here.

All speculation which can be quite easily explained. It's routine in Latin American countries to record the airport searches especially of Europeans because when they're caught invariably they'll usually accuse corrupt officials in host country of planting evidence. Video taping goes some way to reassuring their own people and courts that such claims are based on not much more that prejudice. To suggest a drug dealer is going to give away $1m worth of drugs as a decoy or PR exercise is frankly outrageous. Not far behind is the suggestion that Peruvian airport police and troops are on the take to boost their income. The Peruvian police are probably the most professional, best trained and efficient of all in central and south America. Those they have working in around Lima, the tourist areas and airports are among the best paid of their police force earning salaries in the region of $30-60k well above average earnings for there and probably most places in the world. Then you have their long history of fighting drug trafficking and a not so inconsequential conflict with the Shinning Path will also have their methods and procedures up to the "best European standards" - to buy out free passage for drugs through an airport would entail bribing loads of the best paid and most professional police and troops in the region - not impossible but extremely unlikely and probably not an expense or risk your average drug dealer is going to try.

At the end of the day the girls were caught bang to rights. Probably out there on the promise of a free holiday and a few grand. Stupid and nieve but the amount of excuses being made for them is ridiculous.

Ulick, I have a friend who lives in Peru and he said the level of corruption among the police out there has to be seen to be believed.  The girls were caught and that is clear.  To suggest that there may not have been some level of collusion is simply naïve.  I know of cases where these 'patsies' have been set up to allow bigger ones to move through.  Catch the $1m patsy but the one with $3m gets through.  It happens.

[thebigfella]

They are making a right balls of it with the excuses. Unless they are somehow true.
There is nothing smug about making comments on here, if they weren't caught they wold have exported over 1.5 millions worth of Cocaine to Ibiza - as if there wasn't enough. And made a nice fortune. Maybe they would have went on to being big players down the line.

It was up to them get on a plane to the other side of the world.

f**king wise up 

[macdanger2]

Ulick, I have a friend who lives in Peru and he said the level of corruption among the police out there has to be seen to be believed.  The girls were caught and that is clear.  To suggest that there may not have been some level of collusion is simply naïve.  I know of cases where these 'patsies' have been set up to allow bigger ones to move through.  Catch the $1m patsy but the one with $3m gets through.  It happens.

And I'd imagine that the $1m is retail value rather than cost price

[rodney trotter]

They are making a right balls of it with the excuses. Unless they are somehow true.
There is nothing smug about making comments on here, if they weren't caught they wold have exported over 1.5 millions worth of Cocaine to Ibiza - as if there wasn't enough. And made a nice fortune. Maybe they would have went on to being big players down the line.

It was up to them get on a plane to the other side of the world.

f**king wise up 

Wise up yourself. I somehow doubt they would have walked away from Drugs after  trying to do a job like that. No serious players - but active in it.

It ruins enough lives.

[brokencrossbar1]

Ulick, I have a friend who lives in Peru and he said the level of corruption among the police out there has to be seen to be believed.  The girls were caught and that is clear.  To suggest that there may not have been some level of collusion is simply naïve.  I know of cases where these 'patsies' have been set up to allow bigger ones to move through.  Catch the $1m patsy but the one with $3m gets through.  It happens.

And I'd imagine that the $1m is retail value rather than cost price

It's what the police call 'street value' and is therefore an arbitrary amount, generally a bit higher than the real 'street value' as by adding a few more pound on the Police look more efficient.

[Gabriel_Hurl]

What happened to the third member of the group that was caught as well?

Won't someone think of him?

[T Fearon]

If I'm reading their version correctly, these girls were picked up randomly and separately when they were alone in a nightclub in Ibiza, by an obese yet charming Cockney (ie not Brad Pitt), with whom they readily agreed to accompany to a house, which was filled with mobsters who (remember the pick up was random) just happened to have pictures of their families, phones nos and addresses etc, and whom the mobsters threatened to kill if the trip to Peru wasn't undertaken? Even Bertie Ahern or Gerry Adams couldn't keep a straight face coming out with that one.

[Milltown Row2]

Does it really matter that they were set up as 'patsies'?  Even more fool them for doing it. Or does it matter that they have a mum/dad/sister/brother?

Two very foolish girls were caught trying to take drugs from deepest darkest Peru, they could not have been held at gun point on any part of the trip which involved an airport, is there any poster here going to say that they couldn't have got attention to police in any of the 4 airports they have been in? Based on that alone how would a judge view this? I hope this story is true and they were 'kidnapped' but I doubt it.

Tony I've already posted that, waiting on some takers

[GalwayBayBoy]

What happened to the third member of the group that was caught as well?

Won't someone think of him?

Deserves arresting for her hairstyle alone.

[T Fearon]

Sorry, didn't see it. The story is completely implausible. Not condoning the crime, but I suppose you can't help feel a trifle sorry for two 20 year old girls effectively ruining their lives and that of their families, all for the want of a little bit of sense.

[Milltown Row2]

What happened to the third member of the group that was caught as well?

Won't someone think of him?

Deserves arresting for her hairstyle alone.

The guy in the background would be enough of a deterrent for me!!

[God14]

If I'm reading their version correctly, these girls were picked up randomly and separately when they were alone in a nightclub in Ibiza, by an obese yet charming Cockney (ie not Brad Pitt), with whom they readily agreed to accompany to a house, which was filled with mobsters who (remember the pick up was random) just happened to have pictures of their families, phones nos and addresses etc, and whom the mobsters threatened to kill if the trip to Peru wasn't undertaken? Even Bertie Ahern or Gerry Adams couldn't keep a straight face coming out with that one.

Exactly Tony. Nail on the head.

Why did they have their suitcases if they were taken from a nightclub??
Why did they hand over their passports??
How many opportunities would they have passed up to speak to a member of the public or security at these various airports?? Bear in mind that's all over CCTV, im sure any decent lawyer will tear their story to shreds.
Also Melissa Reid said in the video to the anti drugs squad that she didn't know the bags contained drugs. Now she says in her interview to the mirror reporter that the gang showed her how to pack the drugs..?

All smells of bulls#@t to me. I feel sorry for the girls and their families. They have done wrong & deserve to be punished, but I fear that the Peruvian prison system may not offer a humane punishment.

[tyssam5]

How do you know all this?

Why wouldn't it be plausible? In terms of wages they wouldn't get a wile lot of money when working in an airport, getting paid to let ones through and catch others would be as said a win win for everyone concerned.

The drug dealers are telling the girls the truth, the workers are paid off to let people through, just left out the bit that they will let the other ones through instead.

I still don't think they are "drugged", they are talking well (not slurred) they are making sense and whispering among themselves

Why let them find 11kg of very valuable coke when 1kg would achieve the same result? It doesn't add up.

It's about PR, better to have $1m worth of drugs off the street that €100k.  I'll tell you what doesn't add up is the amount of 'coverage' of the arrest and the recording of conversations and 'interviews' with the girls.  Something stinks here.

All speculation which can be quite easily explained. It's routine in Latin American countries to record the airport searches especially of Europeans because when they're caught invariably they'll usually accuse corrupt officials in host country of planting evidence. Video taping goes some way to reassuring their own people and courts that such claims are based on not much more that prejudice. To suggest a drug dealer is going to give away $1m worth of drugs as a decoy or PR exercise is frankly outrageous. Not far behind is the suggestion that Peruvian airport police and troops are on the take to boost their income. The Peruvian police are probably the most professional, best trained and efficient of all in central and south America. Those they have working in around Lima, the tourist areas and airports are among the best paid of their police force earning salaries in the region of $30-60k well above average earnings for there and probably most places in the world. Then you have their long history of fighting drug trafficking and a not so inconsequential conflict with the Shinning Path will also have their methods and procedures up to the "best European standards" - to buy out free passage for drugs through an airport would entail bribing loads of the best paid and most professional police and troops in the region - not impossible but extremely unlikely and probably not an expense or risk your average drug dealer is going to try.

At the end of the day the girls were caught bang to rights. Probably out there on the promise of a free holiday and a few grand. Stupid and nieve but the amount of excuses being made for them is ridiculous.

Ulick, I have a friend who lives in Peru and he said the level of corruption among the police out there has to be seen to be believed.  The girls were caught and that is clear.  To suggest that there may not have been some level of collusion is simply naïve.  I know of cases where these 'patsies' have been set up to allow bigger ones to move through.  Catch the $1m patsy but the one with $3m gets through.  It happens.

How does that help the larger amount get through on the way into Spain?

Also if the sacrificial scheme is known on gaaboard would it not also be know to Peruvian authorities?
JFK says the

[haranguerer]

BC1, what are you on about??!

[Asal Mor]

How does that help the larger amount get through on the way into Spain?

Also if the sacrificial scheme is known on gaaboard would it not also be know to Peruvian authorities?
JFK says the

It's a PR exercise. "Look, we're winning the war against drugs". I'm not saying that's what happened here but it looks like it and it does happen.