Terrified Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid locked up in Peruvian jail for 'cocaine smuggling' Michaella McCollum Connolly, 20, and Melissa Reid, 19, are being held in a maximum security prison in Peru Police say they found more than 11kg of cocaine in their luggage after they checked in for a 6,000-mile flight back to Spain Claims the pair may have been picked up by a South American cartel after they met holidaying in Ibiza Twelve guards armed with rifles patrol the perimeter of the jail The pair are starving themselves while protesting their innocence One guard described them as 'terrified and hysterical' If one is found guilty for the entire haul she could be jailed for 25 years The girls could face up to a year awaiting trial in Santa Monica Prison known to some of South America's most dangerous female criminals By Gerard Couzens In Madrid and Tara Brady Two British girls locked up in Peruvian jail have not eaten for seven days and are said to be terrified and hysterical after they were arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle £1.5million of cocaine out of the country. Michaella McCollum Connolly, 20, and Melissa Reid, 19, are being held in maximum security cells following claims the pair may have been working for a South American cartel. Twelve guards armed with automatic assault rifles and handguns patrol the perimeter of the building. Michaella McCollum Connolly was arrested last Tuesday along with Melissa Reid on suspicion of smuggling £1.5million of cocaine. Both are being held in a prison in Peru which they have described as hell Held: British girls Melissa Reid, left, and Michaella McCollum Connolly, right, have been arrested in Peru on suspicion of trying to smuggle £1million worth of cocaine out of the country One guard told The Daily Mirror: 'Ever since they arrived both have refused to eat or drink. They have starved themselves while saying they are innocent. If they are found guilty they will see what hell is really like. One has gone to pieces. She is hysterical. She keeps crying saying there has been a huge mistake. They are both starting to realise just how serious this is. As far as their parents knew, Miss Reid and Miss McCollum Connolly were spending the summer working in bars and clubs around the Mediterranean. But now they are facing up to 25 years in jail if convicted. The girls' families are today preparing to fly to the country. Hell: The notorious Santa Monica women's prison in Lima where the girls could end up if convicted Santa Monica women's prison on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, where it is believed British teen Melissa Reid, 19, and Irish hostess Michaela McCollum Connolly could spend as long as one year awaiting trial Santa Monica prison is overcrowded and known to some of South America's most dangerous female criminals Former counsel general in Lima, Michael Russell, said Peruvian jails are 'pretty dour and horrible'. 'It's all a matter of money, quite frankly. If you don't have money you suffer quite a lot.' Miss Reid and Miss McCollum Connolly were arrested last Tuesday after officers say they found more than 11kg of the Class A drug in their suitcases as they checked in for a 6,000-mile flight back to Spain. The Foreign Office is said to be providing assistance to the girls but according to the guard they have had no visitors. Shock: The parents of Melissa Reid have yet to come to terms with their daughter's arrest saying they had no idea she had even left the island of Ibiza Miss Reid left her job as a sales assistant at Next and travelled to Ibiza in June. The family of photography student Miss McCollum Connolly, who was studying at Belfast Metropolitan College, launched a missing-person appeal after she failed to answer her phone or update her Facebook page for almost a fortnight. But Spanish police say Miss McCollum Connolly had not been formally reported missing. While her sister Samantha told the Irish Independent: 'We're trying not to think of the media right now because some stuff is quite upsetting and there's been some pictures in the paper which are very distressing.' Michaella's journey: The 20-year-old left Belfast in June and travelled to Ibiza. She was arrested in Lima along with Melissa Reid on suspicion of smuggling £1.5million of cocaine It is feared they may have been targeted by one of the drug gangs operating in Ibiza that offer thousands of pounds to "mules" who carry cocaine from South America to Europe in their suitcases. Serious: If the girls are convicted, they could be moved to Santa Monica jail - a women's prison with filthy conditions where HIV and tuberculosis are rife