Arizona woman freed after being mistakenly held in a Mexican jail for 9 days

An Arizona woman has been freed after being held in Mexico on drug smuggling allegations. Yanira Maldonado spent over a week in a Mexican jail.

The 42 year old mother was detained on May 22 when 12 pounds of marijuana was found taped underneath the seat she was sitting in on the bus she was taking back to the U.S. with her husband.

According to NBC News, she was released late Thursday after nine days in jail after security footage showed she entered the bus only carrying blankets, water and her personal purse.

“I’m free. I’m free. I’m free. I was innocent,” she told reporters upon her release. She said she got through he difficult ordeal by reading scripture and keeping her family in her thoughts.

“My faith and my family kept me going,” she said about the time spent in jail, which she also called “very sad.”

She was in Mexico for a funeral, and she said she isn’t ruling out returning there again just because of this. “I love Mexico. My family is still there,” she said. “Mexico is a beautiful country. Please don’t take it wrong.”

CBS News reports that a judge had to decide by Friday at 6pm whether or not he would be letting Maldonado go, and if he didn’t, she could’ve been transferred to a federal prison in southern Mexico until her court date.

Maldonado and her husband, Gary, celebrated their first wedding anniversary while she was in jail.

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