Tauranga defence and human rights lawyer Craig Tuck is in Bali this week meeting his client who is facing drug smuggling charges.

Wanganui beneficiary Antony Glen de Malmanche, 52, was arrested at the international airport in Denpassar last month - if de Malmanche is convicted, he could face death by firing squad.

Craig Tuck is in Bali meeting his client who is accused of drug smuggling.

Police say he travelled to Hong Kong to meet his internet girlfriend before going onto Bali, allegedly with 1.7kg of methamphetamine in his backpack.

Methamphetamine is in the most serious drug class in Indonesia and anyone convicted of trafficking the substance faces the death penalty.

De Malmanche's family claim he has been caught up in a honey trap internet dating scam and have enlisted Craig to help with his defence case.

'Things are progressing and there is a lot of media interest in the case. It seems to be a high profile case,” Craig told SunLive before he left for Bali.

'I don't know where this is going at the moment - we are at step one.”

De Malmanche is being kept in a cell with 27 other prisoners and Craig says his client is essentially under 24 hour lockdown with no mattress or pillow.

'This is a complex case with many tentacles and it may be still some weeks before I go to the prosecutor for a decision on how the case will proceed,” says Craig.