British expat pensioners arrested over £2m cocaine smuggling plot, named

Two pensioners arrested on suspicion of smuggling £2 million of cocaine into Europe on board a cruise ship have been named as husband-and-wife couple Roger and Susan Clarke.

Roger, 72, had apparently loaded four new suitcases onto the Marco Polo cruise liner while it was docked in St Lucia, according to the Sun, who say they spoke to a fellow passenger on the boat.

The pair were arrested in a targeted raid by Portuguese police on December 4, who boarded the cruise liner as it docked in Lisbon.

Vitor Ananais, who led the operation for the Policia Judiciaria, said: “We knew who were looking for and boarded the cruise ship with a search warrant.”

He described how nine kilograms of cocaine, with a reported street value of £2 million were found inside the couple’s cabin, hidden in false bottoms of their suitcases.

According to the Sun, Roger bragged about buying cheap luggage to fellow guests on board the Marco Polo, saying: “I tell you what Sue, I’ve done a really good deal. $200 for four suitcases. Wasn’t that cheap?

“They would be £1,500 in Harrods.”

Susan, 70, was understood to have stayed on the boat while her husband went onshore.

Details on her Facebook page show that Susan is from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire and worked as a secretary in aviation industry. She now lives with her husband in Guardamar del Segura, just south of Alicante in Spain.

The cocaine was intercepted at the ship’s penultimate stop, rather than at its final docking point of Tilbury, Essex.

Portuguese police chief Vitor Ananais said: “We acted when we did rather than wait for a possible handover because we wanted to protect the investigation and ensure we seized the drugs.

“We do not know for sure at the moment where the cocaine was going to be brought ashore,” he added.

“We believe the couple were given the drugs in a Caribbean island but are still looking into which island at this stage.

“The couple were not at all showy and blended in well because most of the other passengers on the cruise liner were elderly.

“They were travelling alone. They didn’t try to protest their innocence after their arrests. They haven’t said anything to police as to how the drugs got in their cases.”

The couple appeared in court on December 5, with Susan currently being held at a prison in Tires near Lisbon and Roger in a prison in the capital.

The Foreign Office have been contacted for comment.