The Denpasar Bali Court has handed down a life sentence to a Ukrainian national, Roman Nazarenko (42), after declaring the man guilty of producing narcotics.
The sentence of a life behind bars matched the sentencing demands of State Prosecutors.
Public Prosecutor Fisher Valen Johannes Simanjuntak, S.H., charged the Ukrainian with several narcotic violations in connection with the operation of a home-based narcotics factory at Sunny Village in Tibueneng Village in North Kuta, Bali. Namely, Section 113, paragraph 132, subsection 1 and Section 111, paragraph 132, subsection 1 of the Indonesian Narcotics Law Number 35 of 2009.
“The defendant has been proven legally and convincingly guilty of committing a narcotics crime. The defendant is sentenced to life imprisonment,” stated Chief Justice Eni Martiningrum in reading the final verdict.
During the trial, Roman Nazarenko denied that he was the mastermind behind the Bali narcotics factory. He claimed he was only a worker following the instructions of Oleg Tkachuk, a man who is still sought by police. Adding: “I knew they were producing narcotics, but I had no business connection with them.”
Nazarenko also denied membership in the Telegram Group “Hydra” and “Omnoc” that was used for narcotics transactions. He told the Court that he received a salary of US$800 and that Oleg sent a US$10,000 transfer, which he used to rent the villa in Tibubeneng. The Indonesian lawyers hired to defend the Ukrainian, Rico Ardika Panjaitan and Aditya Fatra, said the charges by the Public Prosecutor were irrelevant because the mastermind behind the drug factory, Oleg Tkachuk, has not been apprehended by police.
Police say the North Kuta drug factory had been in operation since 2021, with every kilogram of mephedrone yielding US$10,000 and US$3,000 for each kilogram of marijuana. In 2022, the Sunny Villa location was transformed into a sophisticated drug laboratory using imported equipment. By 2023, the factory was routinely producing 1 kilogram of mephedrone and 4 kilograms of hydroponic cannabis.
Indonesian police raided the factory on 01 May 2024, arresting two Ukrainians, Mykkyta and Ivan. Roman managed to briefly escape to Thailand, where he was arrested in December 2024 under an INTERPOL Red Notice.
During the May raid, police seized 437 grams of mephedrone, 9.7 kilograms of marijuana, and tens of liters of precursors for drug production.
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