Peru Two Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid jailed for six years and eight months for smuggling drugs Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum were detained in August in Lima Arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle cocaine on a flight to Spain Some 24lbs of cocaine worth £1.5m was allegedly found in their luggage The two women from Scotland and Northern Ireland are jailed in Peru The 'Peru Two' were today jailed in Lima for six years and eight months for drug smuggling. Melissa Reid, from near Glasgow, and Michaella McCollum, of Dungannon in Northern Ireland, were detained on August 6 at Lima Airport on suspicion of trying to smuggle cocaine on a flight to Spain. The two women were arrested after 24lbs (11kg) of cocaine worth £1.5million was found in their luggage, according to Peruvian authorities. They were later charged with drug trafficking. Sent to prison: Melissa Reid (left) and Michaella McCollum (right, both pictured today) have been jailed in Peru Sentencing: Reid (right) and McCollum (back) arrive for their court hearing, in Lima, Peru, before being jailed Cocaine smuggling: McCollum (pictured), of Dungannon in Northern Ireland, was detained at Lima Airport Security: Some 24lbs of cocaine worth £1.5million was found in Reid's (pictured) and McCollum's luggage The pair - who became known as the 'Peru Two' - were sentenced by Judge Pedro Miguel Puente Bardales in what was described as a "brief process." Judicial spokesman Daniel Vega said: "The women were very calm as the sentence was handed down at the court in the Sarita Colonia prison. They will now begin serving their sentence in the Santa Monica prison. It is still not clear whether they will be able to serve part of their sentence in the UK. The judge said that was not a decision for the court and they would have to reach an agreement with the prosecution. As McCollum entered court she was carrying a book published in 2009 by Barbara De Angelis called 'Secrets About Life Every Woman Should Know: Ten principles for spiritual and emotional fulfilment'. Reading: As McCollum entered court she was carrying a book published in 2009 by Barbara De Angelis called 'Secrets About Life Every Woman Should Know: Ten principles for spiritual and emotional fulfilment' Courts process: Reid (centre) and McCollum (left) arrive for a hearing with a judge in Callao on September 24 Charges: Connolly (left) and Reid (centre) listen to a translator at an earlier court hearing in Callao in August Because Reid and McCollum have been given a sentence of seven years or less, they are eligible to apply for transfer to Britain - although this must be agreed by both governments. The women were very calm as the sentence was handed down at the court Daniel Vega, judicial spokesman They will also have to pay a civil fine before release, likely to be several thousand pounds each. The pair have served more than four months in the squalid Virgen de Fatima prison since being arrested in August trying to carry cocaine. The women initially claimed they were kidnapped on Ibiza during a summer of partying and forced at gunpoint to traffic the drugs. Reid and Connolly, both 20, subsequently declared their willingness to plead guilty to smuggling the cocaine in the hope their term would be reduced to six years and eight months. Questioning: The duo were detained on August 6 at Lima Airport on suspicion of trying to smuggle cocaine Evidence: Food packages allegedly containing cocaine which were found in the luggage of Connolly and Reid Destination: Because McCollum (left and right) and Reid have been given a sentence of seven years or less, they are eligible to apply for transfer to Britain - although this must be agreed by both governments The pair faced the prospect of a maximum 15-year prison term but struck a behind-closed-doors plea bargain to secure a shorter sentence. Their guilty pleas at the end of September came on the same day that the UN declared that Peru has now overtaken Colombia as the world's number one coca leaf producer, the raw material of cocaine. According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, coca plantations in Peru covered 60,400 hectares last year. Peru's national prisons institute says that 90 per cent of the 1,648 foreigners in the country's prisons are either sentenced or awaiting trial for drug trafficking.