Bali court hands Ukrainian man life sentence for illegal drugs laboratory

A Ukrainian man was sentenced to life in prison by an Indonesian court for his involvement in a large-scale Russian-Ukrainian drug ring operating on Bali, a popular island.

Roman Nazarenko was detained by Thai authorities in December while attempting to flee to Dubai and later extradited to Indonesia. He had been detained by Interpol and was later apprehended.

After police searched a vacation villa in Bali in May 2024, Nazarenko had spent seven months on the run after discovering a lab in the basement where he had grown marijuana and made the synthetic ecstasy precursor.

Prosecutors claimed Nazarenko was one of the masterminds of a drug ring during his trial on Thursday at Denpasar District Court.

The Ukrainian argued that the panel of three judges had fabricated his claim and sat quietly as a life sentence was handed down.

According to presiding judge Eni Martiningrum, “There is no reason to forgive or justify the defendant; he deserves to be punished in accordance with his actions.”

His crime may harm the young generation’s mental health.

Russians and Ukrainians are increasingly collaborating in crime rings on Indonesia’s most well-known holiday island, according to Marthinus Hukom, the head of the country’s most well-known holiday island.

Hukom remarked, “This phenomenon is very unusual.

“Two nations are at war, but Bali’s citizens are partners in crime and traffickers of illicit drugs,” the statement reads.

In addition to the earlier raid on the villa, authorities also detained two Ukrainian brothers, Mykyta and Ivan Volovod, and Konstantin Krutz, a Russian national. Each of the men received a 20-year prison sentence from the same court.

Krutz sold his product, according to the prosecution, while the Volovod brothers were the drug’s producers.

Oleg Tkachuck, a Russian national, is believed to be the overall mastermind behind the drug ring, according to the prosecution. He is still at large.

The Volovod brothers claim that Tkachuck paid them $30,000 in September 2023 to install equipment at the villa to make mephedrone and marijuana, which are used to make ecstasy pills.

According to prosecutors, Nazarenko oversaw lab operations, recruited the other convicted men for Tkachuck, and provided marijuana seeds and equipment.

Nazarenko argued in court that Tkachuck had duped him and expressed regret for his part in the drug operation.

Some of the region’s strictest drug laws are enforced by firing squads, which occasionally lead to the execution of drug smugglers.

Since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in early 2022, Bali has become a magnet for thousands of refugees from Russia and Ukraine fleeing the horrors of war.