.They could face three years pre-trial detention if charged and refused bail
The British drug mule suspects held in Peru over an alleged bid to smuggle cocaine out of the country have arrived in court to find out if they will be charge.
Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid, both wore handcuffs when they were brought out from the National Police anti-drug headquarters front entrance to an awaiting media scrum.
The 20-year-old's looked sombre and kept their eyes to the ground as they were placed in a police car and driven to court.
Arrival: The British drug mule suspects held in Peru over an alleged bid to smuggle cocaine out of the country have arrived in court to find out if they will be charged
The handcuffed pair were brought out by officers through the precinct's front entrance, in front of an awaiting media scrum, and placed into a van
Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum look in a state of shock as they are taken out of the anti-drugs police headquarters in central Lima
The pair have spent the past two weeks in custody in Lima after they were arrested while trying to board a flight to Madrid while allegedly carrying around 11kg of cocaine.
Peruvian police say they have concluded their initial investigation into the case with their findings forming the basis of a pre-trial hearing that will determine what the pair are to be charged with.
Detectives from Peru's drugs squad will today present their case against Michaela McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid, to the district attorney of Lima.
If refused bail, the women face up to three years in jail before a trial. They both deny the allegations and claim they were forced to carry the bags by armed men.
But yesterday further questions about the two women's version of events were raised 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.
The pair say they were told to take photos of themselves at tourist spots to make it look like they were friends travelling together. 
Suspected drugs mules: A picture provided by Peruvian police shows Michaella McCollum Connolly, left, and Melissa Reid when they were detained allegedly with 11 kilograms of cocaine on their way to Madrid, Spain
Fun times? The pair pose with beers in the sun in Peru. Reid's father William Reid, said he believes the girls were forced to stage the photos in order to portray them as 'happy holidaymakers'
Reid's father William Reid, from Glasgow, who has flown to Peru to be with his daughter, agreed the photos were ambiguous, but told the Mail: 'I want to know who took that picture of them on their balcony.
'Was it taken by a third person or by a minder, and who was drinking the beer?
He added: 'I believe the trip to the beach was part of a set-up that they asked them to smile to build up a portrayal of them as happy holidaymakers.
'Melissa said they had been told by the men that they weren't smiling enough in the pictures and they told them to look happier.
'I can only go by what I have been firmly told by the girls. The two girls' stories are very tight, very consistent, with a lot of detail and they seem to be telling the truth, as far as I can gauge.'
He added that Ms Reid had never shown an interest in going to Peru, and was already on her 'dream holiday', saying: 'To me, that suggests she was not there willingly.'
Ambiguous: Reid, left, and Connolly pose with smiles on the balcony of a holiday flat in Peru
Both women travelled separately to the party island of Ibiza in search of work this summer.
Before news of the arrests broke, the family of McCollum, a photography student and former nightclub hostess from Dungannon in Co Tyrone, had launched an internet campaign, fearing she was missing.
Meanwhile, a senior Spanish police officer said he did not believe they had been acting under duress.
First sergeant Alberto Arian Barilla, head of the Ibiza police unit responsible for countering organised crime, told the BBC: 'In my experience, I don't think these two girls were forced to do this because - particularly when you go to South America - you need to pass several controls.
'The first thing you do is go to the passport control and say "Listen, this is what is happening to me". The policeman will react so I don't think they were forced.'
Connolly's lawyer, Peter Madden, denied a variety of media reports that had emerged about his client alleging involvement with drugs.
'Michaella Connolly did not owe any money to any drugs dealer, she was not and is not involved in the drugs trade, she has no criminal record, she has never been in trouble with the police in her life,' he said.
'She was not seen on video carrying drugs, as was alleged in one newspaper, she was carrying a handbag, it was her handbag, it was pretty obvious it wasn't drugs, but that was the report.
'She was not out shopping in Lima and spending a lot of money, that didn't happen.'
Legal fight: British lawyer Peter Madden, who is representing Connolly leaves the National Police anti-drug headquarters where his client and her travel partner are being held. Today they learn what charges they face
He said both women would be moved out of the police centre to court custody ahead of their appearance.
'I don't know at this stage when a decision will be made as to the actual prosecution itself, or when the investigating judge will actually make a decision,' he added.
Mr Madden said the women had been kept in harsh conditions but had been treated well.
'They are fairly tough conditions, there's not an awful lot to eat there, but she's been treated fairly well by the police and by the people in the police centre,' he said.
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