British 'drug mules' leave Peru court for jail (after asking families for Pringles, Nutella and hair remover) Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly appeared in court in Lima Told they are being charged with the 'promotion of drug trafficking' They could spend up to three years in prison awaiting trial Both claim they were forced to carry the drugs by an armed gang But judge asked why they did not ask for help at Lima airport Miss Connolly looked visibly upset and wiped a tear from her eye Pair face up to 15 years in prison if they are convicted By Louise Eccles, Anthony Bond and Hugo Gye Two British girls suspected of smuggling £1.5million worth of cocaine out of Peru are today expecting to learn where they could spend the next three years as they await trial. Wearing each other's clothes, Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly, both 20, appeared in court in Lima last night to be told they were being charged with the 'promotion of drug trafficking'. Following a one-hour hearing, during which they were told they could have to wait three years for a trial, the judge remanded the women in custody after refusing a bail application. He was expected to decide which jail to send the women to within 24 hours of the hearing. Locked up: British girls Melissa Reid, right, and Michaella McCollum Connolly, left, are suspected of smuggling cocaine Worried: The pair looked glum and drawn as they were led away in handcuffs through the back of the court to a holding cell The pair looked glum and drawn as they were led away in handcuffs through the back of the court to a holding cell. At one point, Miss Connolly wiped a tear away from her eye. Because they do not have any clean clothes, they were wearing each others outfits from the previous day. The pair were sent to prison because they admitted they knew there was cocaine in their suitcases and could flee Peru if they were bailed, court officials said today. Judge Dilo Huaman said he was turning them over to the country's prison service so it could decide which jail to send them to. Today officials said the women had confessed to investigators they knew there were drugs in their suitcases - despite telling police after they were stopped as they tried to board a flight to Spain on August 6 they were innocent. Detained: The pair were handcuffed before leaving the Callao courtroom where a Peruvian judge ordered their imprisonment Melissa, 20, from Lenzie near Glasgow, insisted moments after her arrest at Lima's Jorge Chavez Airport she had no idea she was carrying drugs in her luggage. A spokesman for the court in the Lima neighbourhood of Callao which decided to turn down the women's bail plea, said today: 'Both foreign citizens, although they claimed they had received threats to make them take the drugs, admitted they knew there were drugs in their luggage and didn't warn any authorities at all. For that reason and for others relating to flight risk and their family and work ties to Peru, they were remanded in custody. The jail they are sent to will be determined by the Prison Service after the relevant assessments take place. Under article 296 of our penal code, both women could receive a prison sentence of between eight and 15 years. The women insisted they had no idea they were carrying drugs after police stopped them as they tried to board an Air Europa flight to Madrid and discovered more than five kilos of cocaine disguised as food products in each of their suitcases. Wishlist: 'Peru Two' Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly wrote out this list of items that they'd like brought to them to make their lives easier Under pressure: Miss Connolly, 20, showed the strain following the hearing and was pictured wiping a tear Ordeal: Because they do not have any clean clothes, they were wearing each others outfits from the previous day Decision: Peruvian judge Dilo Huaman refused the two girls bail and sent them to prison to await trial An officer from anti-drugs squads Dirandro, speaking in pigeon English, asked Melissa in a video released by police: 'Your know to contain this bag.' Melissa replied: 'I was forced to take these bags in my luggage.' Asked again: 'You know they contained drugs', she replied: 'I did not know that.' McCollum, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, in Northern Ireland, and Reid, from Glasgow claim they were forced to carry the drugs - concealed in food packages - by an armed gang who threatened their family members. Yesterday they appeared before a judge for the first time and were asked why they had posed with a Peruvian police officer in a photograph - and not asked him for help - if they had been kidnapped. Peru's penal authority says 1,648 foreigners are currently in its prisons on drug trafficking charges, 31 of them British citizens. They looked tired and daunted as they sat side-by-side, in handcuffs, next to their solicitor Meyer Fishman at the superior court in Callao yesterday. During the hearing they were told they could spend up to three years in prison awaiting trial. A lawyer for the prosecution said they did not believe the women were forced to smuggle the drugs because, by their own declaration, "they had many chances to ask for help." He also pointed to the photographs on Melissa's camera which showed them doing tourist activities in Lima and Cuzco - in particular a picture in which they allegedly posed with a police officer. He said the prosecution felt they had not told the truth in police interviews, adding that CCTV near their hotel in Lima did not show them with anyone else. The hotel manager also claimed they were alone. The judge asked the women why they had not asked for help at the airport, to which they responded - through their translator - that they were worried and scared and did not know who they could trust or who was watching them. The women spent the past two weeks in a cell beneath Dirandro police station, where they could see their families twice a day. Pensive: The girls talk to their translator as the hearing gets underway in the court . They have been told it is unlikely they will be granted bail Hearing: The pair look on as a lawyer speaks at a court at the Justice Court of Callao. They are suspected of smuggling £1.5million worth of cocaine out of Peru The Mail was even able to take them McDonald's meals, cake, clothing, chewing gum and a Spanish phrase book. But yesterday, reality hit when they found themselves in a "dirty" cramped cell beneath the court at Callao. After their appearance in court they were remanded in custody to the same cell. They will stay there until they are moved to a women's prison - most likely the notorious Santa Monica jail - where they will stay for the next few months, or even years, while they wait for their case to be heard. Earlier in the week the pair had given Melissa's father Billy a wish list that included strawberry jam, Nutella chocolate spread, baby oil, Nivea moisturiser, croissants, Pringles crisps, hair removal cream and a pack of cards. In a sign that the reality of the trouble they are in hadn't quite set in, the pair munched pizza as they wrote out items that they'd like brought to them to make their lives a little easier. A prison cell inside the Santa Monica prison in Lima, Peru. Picture shows the maximum security section of the prison where inmates accused of terrorism are secluded The pair are likely to hear today whether they are to be moved to the notorious Santa Monica jail, where they will wait for their case to be heard The Santa Monica prison in Lima, Peru, is one of two destinations the two British women could be sent to The list was given to Mr Reid on Monday night but before he could buy any of the goods, the women were charged with drugs trafficking and moved from their relatively comfortable cell at a Lima police station to a "horrific" one beneath a courthouse, with no access to food or bedding. Concerns have been raised over the state of their mental health. The pair looked harassed and terrified as they left a prosecutor's office last night before the decision to charge them was announced. Miss Connolly's lawyer, Peter Madden, who yesterday visited the women at the Palace of Justice, said he feared for their physical and mental health. Mr Madden, told the Mail: "They are in a windowless cage on their own. Lima's Ancon 2 prison where the Two British women, Michaella McCollum, from Dungannon and Melissa Reid, from Lenzie near Glasgow could be moved to Inside Lima's Ancon 2: A cell showing a bunk bed and barred windows Recreation time at the women's prison in the Peruvian capital A spokesman for the country's state prosecution service announced the charges in a short statement released at 8.20pm local time on Tuesday night. It said: 'The Callao state prosecutor's office has filed a criminal suit before the courts against Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid as suspected authors of a crime of drugs trafficking using transport. 'Peru's penal code punishes this crime with a custodial sentence of 18 to 15 years. State prosecutors have gathered enough evidence pointing to the alleged responsibility of both women, which means that in the course of the investigations against them conducted so far, the allegations against them have not changed. The women underwent medical examinations and psychiatric tests on Tuesday before being moved to an anti-drugs state prosecutor's office in the rundown port of Callao, after officers concluded their investigation. Police chief Colonel Tito Perez said: "It is now up to state prosecutors to decide whether they formally accuse them of a crime based on the results of our investigation. Armed guards marched them out of the front door of Dirandro police station in Lima on Tuesday rather than drive them out of the discreet underground car park in a move designed to send a message to would-be drugs smugglers. Arrival: Michaella McCollum Connolly (left) and Melissa Reid (right) were led to court in handcuffs where they were due to find out if they would be charged for being drug mules Earlier on Tuesday, the pair were pictured both wearing handcuffs when they were brought out from the National Police anti-drug headquarters front entrance to an awaiting media scrum. Further questions about the two women's version of events were raised earlier this week following the emergence of photographs that allegedly show them posing on a balcony and on a beach with glasses of beer days before they were arrested at Lima airport. William Reid (left) father of Melisa Reid, is pictured outside Callao's Court after attending the girls' hearing William Reid, from Glasgow, agreed the photos of the two women in Lima were ambiguous but says they were set up by criminals Legal fight: British lawyer Peter Madden, who is representing Connolly leaves the National Police anti-drug headquarters where his client and her travel partner were being held