Mother of two Mary Jane Veloso, 39, was arrested and sentenced to death in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin, in a case that sparked uproar in the Philippines.

Officers picked her up from a women's prison in Yogyakarta, an AFP journalist present said, before transporting her late Sunday to another prison in Jakarta, 418 kilometres away.

From there she will eventually be flown back to the Philippines at a later date.

Indonesian government officials say her transfer to the Philippines could take place as early as Tuesday.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Roy Soemirat said they did not yet "have any formal information from our law enforcement agency on the details" of her transfer.

The Philippine embassy in Jakarta did not respond to a request for comment.

Both she and her supporters said she was duped by an international drug syndicate, and in 2015, she narrowly escaped execution after her suspected recruiter was arrested.

She told AFP on Friday in her first interview since the agreement between the two governments that her release was a "miracle".

Indonesia has some of the world's toughest drug laws and has executed foreigners in the past.

At least 530 people were on death row in the country, mostly for drug-related crimes, according to data from rights group KontraS, citing official figures. 

According to data from Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, 96 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges, as of early November.