text: They were young men from stable families who believed they were stuck in dead end jobs and looked on with jealousy at the flashy lifestyles of others who had girls, money and fast cars at their fingertips. What Andrew Chan, then aged 21, and Myuran Sukumaran, 24, came to have in common was the belief that smuggling drugs would provide them with a short cut to the life of ease and glamour and - their biggest mistake - that they could get away with it. Thirteen years since their fateful first meeting, after all their legal appeals and pleas for clemency have been rejected, the ringleaders of the infamous Bali Nine, who were caught trying to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin out of Indonesia, are now dead. Scroll down for video . Andrew Chan, pictured aged 21, and Myuran Sukumaran, 24, pictured during their first trial in October of 2005, were both attracted to drug smuggling by the promised riches, after being disillusioned by their jobs . Thirteen years since their fateful first meeting, after all their legal appeals and pleas for clemency have been rejected, the ringleaders of the infamous Bali Nine and their tragic tale will shortly come to an end . Dubbed the masterminds behind the $4 million drug plot from the very beginning, the death penalty has never left the table for Chan and Sukumaran since they were first convicted in 2005 following a tip off from Australian federal police to Indonesian officials. But a glance at their working-class backgrounds would never have led anyone to predict their dismal fate. Chan, the youngest of four children and the son of Chinese immigrants, once described himself as the black sheep of his family. He worked as a supervisor for the catering company Eurest, where he first met Renae Lawrence, Martin Stephens and Matthew Norman, who he would later recruit into the drug smuggling roles that landed them in various Indonesian prisons. Sukumaran, a university drop-out and the eldest of three, still lived with his parents while working in a mail room. The Bali Nine trials began in October 2005 at Denpasar district court: Top row (from L-R) Myuran Sukumaran, Andrew Chan and Martin Eric Stephens, 2nd row (from L-R) Chen Si Yi, Tach Duc Thanh Nguyen and Matthew Norman, and 3rd row (from L-R) Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj and Renae Lawrence . Both men, who first met at a party in 2002 despite attending the same Sydney high school, had one thing in common; they were disillusioned by their jobs and had been won over by the riches and lifestyle that selling drugs promised. 'I don't think I was really going anywhere in life. I don't think, you know, I was achieving too much, even though I had a stable job and all… I was a drug user,' Chan told Dateline in a 2010 interview in which Sukumaran also admitted: 'I didn't see myself working in the mail room for the next 50 years of my life'. He continued: 'I thought "No, I can't do this", then you see all these people like in night clubs with nice BMWs, and nice Mercedes and there's always chicks there, and they was buying drinks for everyone and you think "F***", how do you do this on a mail room salary'. Both men were arrested on April 17 in 2005. Chan was intercepted at Denpasar airport along with Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj, Lawrence and Stephens who had heroin strapped to their stomach and legs, while Sukumaran was found at the Melasti Beach Bungalows hotel on Kuta Beach with Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Si Yi Chen and Norman. The latter were found with 334g of heroin along with materials for smuggling including Elastoplast, scales and plastic wrap. Both men were arrested on April 17 in 2005. Chan was intercepted at Denpasar airport along with Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj, Lawrence and Stephens who had heroin strapped to their stomach and legs (pictured) Sukumaran was found at the Melasti Beach Bungalows hotel on Kuta Beach with Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Si Yi Chen and Norman. Pictured: Scott Rush (left and right) with heroin strapped to his stomach and legs after being arrested . Renae Lawrence is pictured being searched by police. The latter group  were found with 334g of heroin along with materials for smuggling including Elastoplast, scales and plastic wrap . It's difficult to imagine the two men, now in their 30s and swearing by their rehabilitation, as the gangster thugs that threatened the lives of their drug mules. Although the Indonesian courts concluded that it could not be proven, Rush and Lawrence both claimed that Chan had threatened their families' lives if they did not follow his orders. Meanwhile prosecutors accused Sukumaran of being uncooperative and having no remorse for his actions, making it all the easier to push for the death penalty. By October, the trials had begun for the Bali Nine at Denpasar district court and within just five months on February 14 in 2006, Chan and Sukumaran were sentenced to death by firing squad. Stephens, Czugaj, Lawrence, Nguyen, Chen, Norman and Rush meanwhile, were given life in prison during trials between February 13 and 15. However by the 17th, all of them had appealed their sentences except Rush, marking the beginning of a long battle with prosecutors as their verdicts wavered between death and life in prison. Although the Indonesian courts concluded that it could not be proven, Rush and Lawrence both claimed that Chan had threatened their families lives if they did not follow his orders . It's difficult to imagine the two men, now in their 30s and swearing by their rehabilitation, as the gangster thugs that threatened the lives of their drug mules . Renae Lawrence is the only Bali Nine member who was given a reduced sentence of 20 years, while the other six (Chan and Sukumaran excluded) were sentenced to life in prison. Pictured Nguyen (left) and Rush (right) Finally in 2011, Rush was the last of the smugglers to be sentenced to life in prison along with five others. Renae Lawrence is the only Bali Nine member who was given a reduced sentence of 20 years. All seven are now waiting out their sentences from inside various Indonesian jails scattered around the country. Chan and Sukumaran's death sentence on the other hand, would never budge. An initial appeal of the death penalty was rejected by the Bali high court in April of 2006 at a time when Australia's prime minister at the time, John Howard, refused to interfere. A second attempt, this time requesting for a judicial review in August 2010, were supported by prison officials who attested to their rehabilitation. Chan, covered in tattoos and gold jewellery upon his arrest, had transformed into a devout Christian minister ordained by the Bayside Church in Melbourne. All seven are now waiting out their sentences from inside various Indonesian jails scattered around the country. They fought a long battle with prosecutors as their verdicts wavered between death and life in prison . Several trips: Panel beater turned drug mule Renae Lawrence made two successful trips for Chan from Bali with heroin strapped to her body, but was caught on the third, in April 2005, and sentenced to 20 years . Former Wollongong bartender, Martin Stephens (left) and Sydney catering worker Matthew Norman (right), pictured at Kerobokan Jail, Bali, in 2007, two years after they were duped by Chan who had promised them quick riches by acting as heroin mules in Bali . Skumaran meanwhile, had obtained an Associate Degree in Fine Art from Curtin University in Perth and became known for his haunting paintings. Both organised and ran various classes, including English and art classes, for their fellow inmates and spoke out in media interviews about their lengthy imprisonment and how they reflected on their past with regret. Both judicial review requests were rejected by July 2011, leading the duo to appeal for presidential clemency from Indonesia's then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the following year. But a two year long wait amounted to nothing as both men had their pleas reject by Joko Widodo, who was elected in July of 2014 and by December had announced his hard-line stance on drug smugglers. The first four months of 2015 has proved to be a complete nightmare for Chan and Sukumaran and their families. Handcuffed and shackled, Andrew Chan cut a bleak figure as he was transferred from Bali to central Java and a prison cell on 'Death Island' Utter despair was etched on Myuran Sukumaran's face as he was led away to be transferred to Nusakambangan where he is due to face the death penalty . It began with the rejection of their clemency and the announcement that they would be amongst those next executed. In the following months judicial reviews were rejected, legal appeals failed along with appeals against the refusal for clemency and prisoner swaps were refused as the men's lawyers mounted a new case in the constitutional court. The pleas of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and the Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, fell on deaf ears as Mr Widodo repeatedly made his stance on drug smugglers clear - there would be no mercy.
target: Andrew Chan is the youngest of four children and the son of Chinese immigrants who worked as a supervisor for a catering company .
  Myuran Sukumaran, a university drop-out and the eldest of three, lived with his parents while working in a mail room .
  Both men revealed that flashy lifestyles attracted them to drug smuggling .
  They were arrested in 2005 for organising eight kilos of heroin to be smuggled out of Indonesia, and sentenced to death five months later .
  In nearly ten years on death row, Chan found God and become a Christian pastor; Sukumaran became an artist .