In an email to NZME. News Service, Mr Tuck confirmed his client had been informed in prison on February 10.
"The indictment was served on Mr de Malmanche by another prisoner paid by officials to do so," he said. "It was [in] Indonesian - we have now obtained an English translation."
There had been no indication of a start date, he said. It's possible the trial could run for six months, sitting for just one day per week.
More details of events leading up to de Malmanche's arrest have also been revealed, including his time in China trying to meet a woman called 'Jessie' before he travelled to Bali.
De Malmanche, who had a history of mental illness and suffered a head injury as well as back and neck injuries while working as a tree feller, had developed a Christian faith in recent years and was trying to meet someone to share his life with. He developed an online dating relationship with 'Jessie', who claimed to be a successful businesswoman and paid for his passport to travel to Hong Kong so they could meet. It was the first time de Malmanche, who claimed an Invalids Benefit, had travelled overseas.
After three days in Hong Kong, Jessie's assistant 'Larry' asked de Malmanche to buy a bus ticket to Guangzhou - China's third largest city, and 120km away - where Jessie would meet him in a few days, Mr Tuck said. de Malmanche met Larry in Guangzhou, and after two days he was told Jessie was having visa problems and would now meet him in Bali.
They returned to Hong Kong, where Larry took him to a market to buy a bag for Jessie, which Larry put into de Malmanche's backpack, Mr Tuck said.
He then flew to Bali, where he was stopped at the airport and detained by Customs for drug smuggling.
Expert briefs were now being prepared to support the defence proposition that de Malmanche was a victim of trafficking, rather than being a trafficker himself.
"We have a comprehensive analysis of the drug cartel which is a global operation traversing six countries and involving many well-resourced people," Mr Tuck told LawPoints.
He would argue that de Malmanche was a "trafficked mule" or "sacrificial mule".
"Tony de Malmanche has been invested in by the cartel - they funded all sorts of things ? It's one of those situations where the factual matrix is ideally suited, in my view, to this defence," he said.
"Without knowledge of the methamphetamine he shouldn't be convicted."
A spokesman from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) said consular staff from the New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta continue to provide assistance to de Malmanche and regularly check on his well-being.
"Mr de Malmanche remains in custody and has legal representation," the spokesman said.
However, he did not confirm if the Ministry was aware de Malmanche had been served with indictment papers, or if it new of a start date for his trial.
"The Ministry cannot comment on the ongoing investigation or intervene in the judicial proceedings of another country," he said.
De Malmanche will be tried in the second tier jurisdiction of the District Court in Denpasar in front of three judges and no jury.
Any appeals will go straight to the Supreme Court of Indonesia in Jakarta.
