Lindsay June Sandiford, a British housewife, was arrested for allegedly trafficking cocaine worth £1.6 million into the island of Bali as she arrived on a flight from Bangkok in Thailand on May 19.

The 55-year-old, who was reportedly carrying the 4.7-kg haul in a suitcase, said she made the trip because her children in the UK were being threatened. During a press conference in the holiday town of Kuta, Lindsay was pictured sitting at a table surrounded by packages wrapped in brown tape as a customs official cut them open with a knife.

“We arrested the suspect after we found 4,791 grams of cocaine in her suitcase. She hid it in the lining. We conducted an X-ray scan on the luggage, found a suspicious substance in it and then examined it”, said customs official Made Wijaya.

Two days after Lindsay’s arrest she was contacted by a second British woman to arrange for a meeting. Police conducted a sting operation and arrested the other four people involved in the drug smuggling ring.

One British woman, two British men and an Indian national were believed to be the intended recipients and are being quizzed. Further details are expected to be revealed by police later today.

According to the officials, another 68 g of cocaine, 280 g of powdered ecstasy and a small amount of hashish were recovered after the arrest of the other gang members at separate locations in Bali.

Indonesia has tough anti-drugs laws and hence, if convicted, Lindsay could face the death penalty by firing squad. Notably, more than 140 people are on death row in Indonesia and of them, one third are foreigners.

•