A BRIT pensioner who was jailed in Portugal for smuggling cocaine has been moved to the UK to finish his sentence.
Roger Clarke, 74, left his prison in Lisbon just weeks after his wife Susan died from breast cancer, aged 72.
They were caught with 20lb of drugs stitched into the lining of their suitcases and were imprisoned for eight years.
The couple, who are grandparents, were arrested in December 2018 when they docked in Lisbon, having travelled from the Caribbean.
Clarke is now being held at HMP High Down, near Sutton, Surrey.
The prison has previously held paedophile pop star Gary Glitter and drug-smuggling England cricketeer Chris Lewis.
Clarke’s tariff ends in May but insiders have said he could walk free earlier and could be getting day release.
A source told The Mirror: “Roger fought to be transferred to the UK for months, he begged British authorities to step in.”
The husband and wife, from Chatham, Kent, were arrested following a tip-off as the Marco Polo liner arrived in Lisbon from St Lucia.
They claimed crooks conned them into carrying the four suitcases but were jailed in September 2019.
Lawyers said the pair were drug mules smuggling cocaine which was destined for the UK.
Susan Clarke was held at EP Tires prison, which also houses killers, where she shared a 10x10ft cell with three others.
Clarke was behind bars in the notorious EP Lisboa prison.
He previously had begged former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for help and complained about the rats.
Just six months after being sentenced, Susan feared she would not make it out of the prison alive, before she died last October.
In 2010, the pair were caught smuggling 240kg of cannabis into Norway, before moving to the Costa Blanca, Spain.
Police said they used four cruises in two years as a front, making as much as £26,500 per trip.
Clarke was moved to a lower-security site last year before being extradited.
The Portuguese Prison Service said: “Roger Clarke was extradited to the UK.”
Full I'm A Celebrity 2022 line up revealed
I’m a mum-of-11 by eight dads, people are shocked by my life but I don’t care
Mum shows off cheap B&M buy which helps her washing dry without a tumble dryer
Emmerdale star quits ITV soap after 3 years to pursue new roles
©News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. “The Sun”, “Sun”, “Sun Online” are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers’ Limited’s Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. View our online Press Pack. For other inquiries, Contact Us. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)
Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/
