Patricia Baronowski-Schneider missed her grandchildren while locked up in a Peruvian prison (Photo: SWNS)

A ‘vulnerable’ grandmother spent four years in a cockroach- and rat-infested prison after being caught smuggling cocaine.

Patricia Baronowski-Schneider fell for a ‘business opportunity’ and was tricked into delivering a suitcase to a man in Hong Kong – but when airport staff opened the bag, she discovered it contained cocaine.

The 54-year-old grandmother says parts of her brain failed after she suffered a serious brain injury in 2015, leaving her vulnerable to scams.

She was sentenced to more than six years in prison, but was released after four years for good behavior.

Patricia, from Long Island, New York, shared a room and a ‘hole in the floor’ as a toilet with up to 22 other people for four years in the ‘brutal’ and ‘violent’ Peruvian prisons.

She said, “It felt like I was taking a tour of the Peruvian prison system.” It was horrible. You had to take ice cold showers and they were full of rats and cockroaches.

Patricia was happy to be reunited with her husband Charles (Image: SWNS)

She was held in ‘brutal’ prisons in Peru (Picture: SWNS)

“For the first few months I had to sleep on a mattress on the floor and you could feel cockroaches and rats running over you – it was just horrible.”

“It was so lonely being in a place where I don’t speak the language, it was so depressing.”

In April 2017, Patricia landed in Peru to launch an International Monetary Fund (IMF) event for like-minded entrepreneurs.

The ‘business opportunity’ turned out to be a scam, orchestrated by a drug gang to lure them to Peru and smuggle their cocaine out of the country.

After meeting seemingly like-minded businessmen and women in Peru, Patricia was told to board a plane with luggage for a man she wanted to meet in Hong Kong.

The trip was fully paid for and she had to provide all her details, including a copy of her passport.

When she arrived at the airport, Patricia was swarmed by police officers who searched her luggage and found it full of cocaine.

She said: “As I approached the counter to check my luggage I was surrounded by police.

“They said they suspected I had cocaine in my luggage. I found it so embarrassing – I’m a good person.

“They checked the replacement luggage I received and discovered it contained cocaine.”

“I was there for hours. They went through everything I had; my money, my credit cards, my wedding rings and I never got any of it back.”

Patricia says she gave police evidence that she was part of a scam, but they didn’t believe her.

Patricia was sentenced to a year in prison and then thirteen months of house arrest until her trial in 2018.

She said: “I waited two years to make a decision – it was two years of missing my grandchild and I already had another grandchild with another on the way.”

“The judge told me that I would stay there for many years and that I had connections to the cartel.

“I pleaded not guilty and was sentenced to six years and 10 months.”

She has vowed to continue looking ahead after her release (Image: SWNS)

Patricia with her mother, two sisters and her sister-in-law (Photo: SWNS)

Patricia subsequently spent four years in prisons in Callao, Ancón and Lima.

She said: “I was in lockdown during Covid. It was crazy; They had no idea what they were doing.

“There were 150 people in one room and we had twelve seats to watch TV.”

“I met many Americans there who had also fallen for the scam.”

“I thought about suicide, but my son wrote me a very beautiful message that gave me the strength to continue.”

“He’s the reason I’m still here.”

Patricia’s release came in January 2021 when she was informed she would be released early for good behavior.

Patricia said: “It was an overnight release. Everyone was very happy for me. They cheered when I left.

“I got a completely new passport.” I was accompanied by the police, but that brought no relief.

“When the plane left the ground, I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s finally over.’”

Patricia landed at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, and was picked up by her husband Charles Schneider, 53, and their daughter Serina Sweet, 31.

Patricia said: ‘It was great to see her again after so many years.’ The feeling of hugging her and knowing that it was finally all over was incredible.

“It was an emotional roller coaster.” When I hugged my husband, I knew it was over.

“It’s the best feeling to be with my family again, that’s what I think about. ‘Always look forward and never look back.’

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