Map reveals journey of British beautician, 28, who faces 60 years in prison for ‘attempting to smuggle £3.5m of cocaine from Cancun in suitcases’ – as ordeal has eerie echoes of ‘Peru 2’

A British woman facing 60 years in prison for allegedly trying to smuggle £3.5 million worth of cocaine out of Cancun claims she was ‘forced’ to carry the drugs in her suitcases by men who offered her a free holiday to Mexico offered.

Kimberly Hall, a 28-year-old beautician from Middlesbrough, met two ‘property developers’ in Portugal who allegedly forced her to return bags containing what she thought was cash to Britain after traveling to Cancun, she was told family at the Sun.

Hall was ‘threatened’ when she arrived and was given the bags in Mexico – before being held in Chicago with 43kg of cocaine as she waited for a connecting flight to Manchester.

Her family says all she is guilty of is “stupidity and naivety” after taking the strangers up on an offer of a free vacation to Mexico in exchange for taking what she believed to be $250,000 in cash across the border.

With Hall facing a lengthy prison sentence in the US, the story is reminiscent of the Peru Two case, when two women from Britain were arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling in Lima after being stopped with 12kg of cocaine in their luggage.

Hall, 28, is currently in Chicago awaiting trial after being detained in Chicago

British beautician Kimberly Hall could be jailed for 60 years in the US for allegedly bringing home £3.5 million worth of cocaine hidden in suitcases from a holiday in Mexico

Melissa Reid (right) and Michaella McCollum Conolly (left) were arrested at Lima airport in 2013 in a case that became known as the Peru Two

Homeland Security was already waiting for Hall at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport when she arrived for a connecting flight to Manchester, back from Mexico.

She was reportedly found with more than 900 grams, which puts her in the top bracket for sentencing.

This is a Class X felony punishable by between 15 and 60 years in prison.

Class X drug charges are usually for people who intend to manufacture or distribute illegal drugs.

However, her family insist she was lured onto a free holiday by two men she met during a trip to Portugal with a friend.

Hall says the men told her they were property developers and invited her to stay with them before offering her the trip of a lifetime.

After returning to Britain, Hall traveled on to Cancun, Mexico, where the bags were presented to her.

She claims they then forced her to take £250,000 in cash back to Britain in her suitcases.

However, on her way home, officers stopped her in Chicago.

She remains in the Cook County Jail in Chicago awaiting trial.

Hall claimed she was forced to carry suitcases for men who offered her a vacation to Cancun

Melissa, pictured in 2013, was arrested and jailed after being picked up at Jorge Chavez International Airport

Michaela (pictured) and Melissa took coveted beauty courses in prison

Mrs Hall’s father John, 59, told The Sun: ‘She is not a drug smuggler. They took her phone and threatened her family and that’s why she did it.

‘She’s never had any problems, nothing at all. She had a good upbringing and has always worked for her money.

“She said, ‘You don’t understand what they threatened me with.’ That’s the most we can get out of her.

Ms Hall, from Middlesbrough, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to supply following her arrest in August.

Her father said they have paid £28,000 for a local lawyer and are terrified for her welfare because she is ‘petrified’. and ‘in tears’.

The story echoes the ‘Peru Two’ case, in which two women from Britain were arrested in 2013 on suspicion of drug smuggling in the Peruvian capital.

Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid were picked up at Jorge Chavez International Airport with 12kg of cocaine in their luggage.

They had flown from Ibiza, Spain, where they were on holiday.

McCollum and Reid claimed they were pressured by an armed gang to carry the drugs, but later pleaded guilty.

They were sentenced to six years and eight months in prison and trained as beauticians in prison.

Ms Hall, from Middlesbrough, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to supply following her arrest in August

The Cook County Jail, where Hall is being held, has held several notorious criminals, including Al Capone, Tony Accardo, Frank Nitti, Larry Hoover, Jordan Tate, Jeff Fort, Richard Speck, John Wayne Gacy and the Chicago Seven.

People protesting conditions inside have claimed in the past that some prisoners do not have access to soap, restricting their movement.

A coalition of former prisoners, family members of current prisoners and advocates say prisoners’ rights are violated daily because they are not allowed to worship the way they want.

In a statement to CBS 2, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office called this group’s claims “baseless.”

They said their facility is considered a model for safety nationwide and that inmates receive many essential services, including mental health care and the essentials of soap and balanced, nutritious meals.