An elderly British couple have been jailed for drug trafficking in Portugal after they were found in possession of around 9kg of cocaine on a cruise liner in Lisbon.
Roger, 72, and Sue Clarke, 71 were arrested as they docked in the Portuguese city in December last year.
The pair were just about to disembark from the MC Marco Polo on the penultimate day of their 33-day £3,000-a-head transatlantic cruise when they were held by local police.
Officers moved to investigate the married couple after a tip-off from the British .
Upon their search, officials uncovered a large amount of cocaine with an estimated street value of £266,000 hidden in four suitcases.
It was alleged that the pair bragged of buying the huge haul of the class A drug for a bargain on the Caribbean island of St Lucia.
However, during court proceedings, the couple reportedly told the court that they had been duped into taking the suitcases by a Jamaican man.
Ex-lorry driver Roger and former secretary Sue Clarke, of St Mary’s Cray near Bromley in Kent, were sentenced to eight years behind bars during a hearing on Thursday.
The couple had previously served prison sentences in Norway after being caught smuggling cannabis.
Their lawyer Susana Paisana said she will consider appealing against the verdict.
