There are rats the size of rabbits and I’ve lost six stone
Cocaine smuggling Briton, 72, moans over Portugal prison hell
also jailed in Norway in 2010 for trafficking 240 kilos of cannabis resin, protested their innocence.
Roger, who changed his surname from Button, said he was given the cases by two Jamaican associates with whom he was negotiating a deal to import exotic fruit.
He said he was offered £800 but had no idea what they contained. His wife maintained she had nothing to do with her husband’s business dealings.
But prosecutors said the pair were drug mules who had been on four cruises to South America in two years as a front for their crimes.
The judge dismissed the couple’s claim that they were duped and, as she sentenced them to eight years, Roger told Susan: “We will be 80 when we get out”. The couple were told they would serve their terms in Portugal, rather than being returned to Britain.
But Roger, from Chatham, Kent, hopes they can be transferred to Funchal Prison, in Madeira, where both men and women can do their time.
Roger said: “My wife is in another prison. We have been in for 10 months but we have had just three visits.
“We are going to obtain forms asking for a transfer to Madeira as it takes both male and female prisoners – at least we would be able to see each other daily.
“The judge for whatever reason said we both must serve our sentence in this country and not be allowed to transfer to the UK to complete it.”
Roger has also told how his health has waned since being locked-up.
“I have a heart condition and had stents fitted in 2010,” he said.
“I was rushed to hospital with a suspected heart attack here.
“It turned out to be something to do with my chest muscles as I have lost nearly six stone.”
Sources say Susan is working in the sewing department of Lisbon’s Tires Prison, stitching soft toys and sharing a cell with four other inmates.
And Roger has applied for a job to help while away his sentence too.
“Mind you, the pay is two euros per day,” he said.