Michaella McCollum

Convicted drug smuggler Michaella McCollum has left Peru after being released from prison earlier this year and has arrived back in Ireland.

The Irish Independent reports that the 23-year-old arrived at Dublin airport Friday night on a flight from London. She posted a photo on Instagram before boarding her flight from South America. Pictures emerged online showing McCollum, who refused to answer questions from reporters, walking through Dublin airport Friday evening.

In August 2013, McCollum and Melissa Reid, from Scotland, were arrested at Lima Airport with 11KG of cocaine.

McCollum received a six-year, eight-month sentence but was released on parole in March this year. She had to stay in Peru while awaiting a judicial hearing to decide when she could return to Ireland.

In an interview shortly after her release, she said:“I made a decision in a moment of madness….I’m not a bad person.. I want to demonstrate that I’m a good person.

“I potentially could have hurt a lot of people. I potentially could have filled Europe full of a lot of drugs,” she said.

Melissa Reid returned to Scotland in June.