THE mother of a backpacker jailed in India for drug smuggling says she is hopeful he will be transferred to a UK prison.

Patrick Malluzzo was jailed for 10 years in 2006 after being found guilty of smuggling cannabis in Mumbai, and unsuccessfully appealed the conviction in February this year.

The 33-year-old former City worker and his family, from Dartford, have maintained his innocence since he was first imprisoned after being arrested in 2004.

But after waiting four years for an appeal and then losing, they are now concentrating on getting him moved to a UK prison, and his mum says she is “hopeful” it will happen.

Teresa Malluzzo, aged 62, who has not seen her son for seven years, said: “The official line from the Foreign Office is that it could take between 18 months and two years.

“We are in contact with the Foreign Office all the time and they are doing everything they can to persuade the Indian authorities to allow Patrick to be moved home.”

Patrick has prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate which causes pain when urinating, and Mrs Malluzzo says he needs to return to the UK to receive proper treatment.

Mr Malluzzo was arrested at Mumbai airport in January 2004 while waiting for a flight, after Indian police found a bag containing cannabis and a ticket with his name on it on a train in November 2003.

But Mr Malluzzo, who was backpacking around India at the time, was not with the bag when police found it and claimed it did not belong to him.