Inside journey of Brit, 28, accused of smuggling £3.5mn into Cancun

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

Kimberly Hall, a 28-year-old beautician from Middlesbrough, met two 'property developers' in Portugal, who allegedly coerced her into taking bags of what she thought was cash back to the UK after travelling to Cancun, her family told the Sun.

Hall was 'threatened' once she arrived and given the bags in Mexico - before being detained in Chicago with 43kg of cocaine while waiting for a connecting flight to Manchester.

Her family say all she is guilty of is 'stupidity and naivety' after taking the strangers up on an offer of a free holiday to Mexico in return for carrying what she thought was $250,000 in cash across borders.

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

Homeland Security were already waiting for Hall at Chicago's O'Hare airport when she arrived to catch a connecting flight to Manchester, back from Mexico.

She was allegedly found with more than 900 grams, which places it in the top bracket for sentencing.

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This is a Class X Felony which carries between 15 and 60 years in prison.

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

Her family insist she was lured into a free holiday by two men that she had met on an trip to Portugal with a friend, however.

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 the UK, Hall continued on to Cancun, Mexico, where she was handed the bags.

She claims that they then coerced her into taking £250,000 in cash back to the UK in her suitcases. 

On the way home, however, officers stopped her in Chicago. 

She remains in Chicago's Cook County jail, awaiting her trial. 

Ms Hall's father John, 59, told The Sun: 'She's not a drug smuggler. They got her phone and threatened her family and that's why she did it.

'She's never been into trouble, nothing at all. She's had a good upbringing and has always worked for her money.

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'She said: "You don't understand what they were threatening me with". That's as much as we can get out of her. 

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

Her father said they've paid £28,000 for a local attorney, are terrified about her well-being because she's 'petrified'. and 'in tears'.

The story echoes the 'Peru Two' case, in which two women from the UK 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 holidaying.

McCollum and Reid maintained that they had been pressured into carrying the drugs by an armed gang, but later pleaded guilty.

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

Cook County jail, where Hall is being held, has held several infamous 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 about the conditions within have claimed in the past that some inmates have no access to soap, restriction on exercise.

A coalition of former inmates, relatives of current inmates and advocates say that the inmates' first amendment rights are being violated daily as they aren't allowed to worship the way they choose.

In a statement to CBS 2, the Cook County Sheriff's Office called the claims that are being made by this group 'baseless.'

They said their facility is considered a model across the country for safety and that inmates are provided many critical services including mental health services and the essentials of soap and balanced nutritious meals.