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South African man, a Nigerian soccer player and an Indonesian woman will likely face the death penalty for their alleged involvement in the trafficking of nearly 3 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, a senior prosecutor stated when indicting the defendants on Monday.

The defendants, identified as South African national Brett Theo Savage, 44; Sri Handayani, 30; and Nigerian Osita Emmanuel Obumneme, 27, were arrested at different times in three separate locations by a joint task force comprising Bali Police officers and customs officials from Ngurah Rai International Airport.

“The defendant Brett Theo Savage has illegally produced, imported, exported and distributed a Class I narcotic substance, namely methamphetamine, weighing more than 5 grams,” prosecutor I Made Tangkas stated before the panel of judges, chaired by IGB Komang Wijaya Adhi.

Tangkas indicted Savage under three articles of the 2009 Narcotics Law. He later reminded the court that those found guilty of trafficking more than 1 kilogram of an illicit drug could be sentenced with capital punishment.

Savage was arrested on Oct. 19, 2011 by Ngurah Rai Airport customs officials minutes after he disembarked from a flight from Johannesburg, South Africa. Officials found two suspicious packages taped to the inside lining of his blue briefcase. Laboratory tests confirmed that the packages contained 2.979 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.

Following intensive interrogation, Savage admitted that he was supposed to hand over the packages to another courier at the Hotel Oranjje in East Denpasar. Several police detectives escorted Savage to the hotel and set up a trap for the courier. The trap worked and the officers subsequently arrested the suspected courier, Sri Handayani.

Handayani later confessed that she was supposed to fly to Jakarta to deliver the drugs to a third man, who was believed to be the actual owner of the packages. She was later flown to Jakarta and instructed to make contact with the man. Handayani succeeded in setting up a meeting with the man at Mall Lippo Karawaci in Tangerang, Banten.

Plainclothes narcotics detectives surrounded Handayani and the man the moment she handed over the packages. The third suspect was identified as Osita Emmanuel Obumneme.

The Denpasar Prosecutor’s Office has assigned Ketut Terima Darasana and Ayu Sulasmi to prosecute Handayani and Obumneme, respectively. Both defendants have also been indicted under the same articles in the Narcotics Law and face the death penalty.

All the defendants stated that they understood the charges presented by the prosecutors.