Connolly and Reid: just two out of hundreds jailed in Peru

The frivolous nature of their demands suggests the two 20-year-olds may be unaware of the gravity of their fate. Observers of the Peruvian justice system say it could be up to three years before they even come to court. And one of the main reasons for the delay is that there are so many foreigners – many of them women – suspected of drug smuggling that Lima's courts are unable to cope.

The number of young, vulnerable European women targeted by Peruvian drug cartels to act as mules is rising all the time. The Australian reported yesterday that hundreds of European women are currently awaiting trial or serving sentences having been convicted for smuggling cocaine.

Last year alone, 248 foreigners were arrested at Lima airport attempting to smuggle drugs to the US and Europe, the paper was told by the specialist anti-drugs unit, Dirando. A large proportion of them were European women. At one point last year the number of incarcerated women from Spain outnumbered those from Peru.

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Connolly and Reid claim that they were forced to transport drugs by an armed gang, but many young women willingly become involved in drug smuggling out of financial desperation.

Sources within the Peruvian police reveal the profile of people these cartels prey on: young, naive, white women with financial worries. The gangs then spin them a low-risk, high-reward tale, promising them life-changing amounts of money.

The head of Dirando, Johnny Bravo, said: "Because of their needs, many unemployed women are easily taken in by drug trafficking rings."

Milton Rojas, who works for a drug prevention and awareness centre in Lima, said Europeans were wrongly sold the idea that coming to South America and trafficking in drugs was easy because "security is not so tight". The number of arrests proves that isn't so.

The BBC reported this week that there are currently 325 foreign inmates, most of whom are serving drug sentences, in the Ancon 2 prison – also known as Fatima de Virgen - where Connolly and Reid are likely to be sent today, having been refused bail at this week's court appearance.

Two young Spanish women serving time in Ancon 2 revealed that they were lured into cocaine smuggling because of the economic crisis at home. The drug gang had told them they would be able to "pay off all your debts at once" - with just a single trip out of Peru.