Roger Clarke, 74, left his prison in Lisbon just weeks after his wife Susan died from breast cancer, aged 72.

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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.”

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