Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid refused bail over Peru drug charge Two women arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.5m out of Peru have been refused bail and could spend up to three years in prison awaiting trial. Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid, both 20, face a maximum prison sentence of 15 years if convicted, the prosecutor's office in Callao, near Lima has said. On Wednesday, during a public court appearance, the pair were formally charged with the promotion of drug trafficking and were refused bail. McCollum, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, in Northern Ireland, and Reid, from Lenzie claim they were forced to carry the drugs - concealed in food packages - by an armed gang who threatened their family members. But during the hearing, the judge reportedly asked the pair why they did not ask for help when they arrived at Lima airport, to which they replied they were threatened. They have spent the past two weeks in custody over the drug trafficking allegations but are expected to be transferred to prison to await their trial. McCollum's lawyer Peter Madden said they were effectively beginning a prison sentence as the pair were told in court it was unlikely they would be granted bail, according to reports. He also said he feared the authorities would attempt to "break their will" by holding the pair in separate prisons. He told reporters: "Their main concern at the moment is that they may be separated, they may be sent to different prisons or they may be separated, and they are both very concerned that that might happen. They didn't know each other before all this started. They've now become best friends, in fact, they are supporting each other. They are the only people. They know each other and they have become friends. The unfortunate thing is that from today they will be serving a prison sentence, in effect, because they will be going to prison to await trial. There will be no court hearing, no public court, and the decision will be made to send them to the prison, and the next thing is, basically, they'll be taken out of here and sent straight to the prison. When asked which prison he thought the pair would be sent to, he replied: "I don't know. As I said there just shortly, a short time ago, I hope they are going to be kept in the same prison wherever it is, I think it is essential, because if the authorities try to separate them it will indicate that they are trying to break their will. Mr Madden had earlier said the women had been kept in harsh conditions but had been treated well.