William Reid, the father of British national Melissa Reid currently being held in Peru on drug trafficking charges, wrote a letter Sunday (August 18) and handed it to the police in Lima to be delivered to his daughter.

Melissa Reid is one of two British women being held for allegedly attempting to smuggle over two million dollars worth of cocaine to Spain from the Andean nation.

According to media, 20-year-old Michaella McCollum Connolly from Northern Ireland and 19-year-old Reid from Scotland, had travelled to Peru from Ibiza where they had been working summer jobs.

The European women reportedly claimed they were forced to carry the bags in their luggage by a group of Colombians who threatened them and said they were unaware it contained drugs.

Officials said the two women were en route to Madrid and Majorca on Tuesday (August 06) when airport officials discovered almost 12 kilos (26 lbs) of cocaine hidden inside food packages in their luggage.

With an estimated street value of $2.3 million (£1.47 million) for the cocaine, Peruvian authorities believe the girls may have been working as drug couriers from South America to Europe.

Peru ranks among Colombia and Bolivia as one of the world's largest producers of cocaine.

Presented by Adam Justice