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.