By Australian Associated,Editor

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Man sentenced to LIFE in jail in Bali after making a major mistake on the tourist island

Ukrainian man says he was tricked into joining the drug ring

READ MORE: Aussie accused of smuggling cocaine into Bali faces trial

By AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: 23:29 BST, 18 September 2025 | Updated: 01:56 BST, 19 September 2025

A Ukrainian man arrested in Thailand and extradited to Indonesia after seven months on the run has been convicted of producing illegal drugs in Bali and sentenced to life in prison.

Roman Nazarenko, 40, became a suspect after police raided a villa in Bali in May 2024 and found a lab in the basement to grow marijuana and produce a precursor of the synthetic drug ecstasy.

As a fugitive listed by Interpol, he was arrested in December at Bangkok’s international airport while he tried to flee to Dubai.

Nazarenko, who argued during the trial that he was tricked into joining the drug ring but who prosecutors said was one of the masterminds, sat silently as a panel of three judges at Denpasar District Court handed down the verdict on Thursday.

‘There is no reason to forgive or justify the defendant, he deserves to be punished commensurate with what he has done,’ presiding Judge Eni Martiningrum said.

‘His crime could damage the mental state of the young generation.’

A Russian man identified by prosecutors as the overall mastermind of the drug ring, Oleg Tkachuck, remains at large.

Ukraine’s Roman Nazarenko has been sentanced to life in prison after producing illegal drugs in Bali

Nazarenko was is on trial, accused of running a drug lab in Bali

The same court in January sentenced two Ukrainian brothers, Mykyta Volovod and Ivan Volovod, and a Russian man, Konstantin Krutz, to 20 years in prison each.

They had been arrested during the raid on the villa.

The Volovod brothers were accused of being drug makers and Krutz was accused of selling the drugs.

The Volovod brothers admitted during their trial that Tkachuck had paid them $US30,000 ($A45,200) in September 2023 to install equipment at the villa to produce hydroponic marijuana and mephedrone, which is used to make ecstasy pills.

Tkachuck also paid them $US3,000 for 10kg of dried marijuana and $US10,000 for 1kg of mephedrone that they had produced for sale to users via couriers and ride-hailing services.

All transactions were made through the Telegram messaging app and payment was made using cryptocurrency.

Nazarenko arrives for a hearing at the district court in Denpasar, Indonesia, on Thursday

Nazarenko expressed remrose during the trial and argued he had been tricked into the crime

Prosecutors said during the trial that Nazarenko had recruited the others for Tkachuck, provided equipment, brought marijuana seeds from abroad and oversaw operations of the drug lab.

The simple fact marijuana was at the centre of the case has sparked parallels to that of Schapelle Corby – who was convicted of smuggling cannabis into Indonesia. Since the arrest, Corby has publicly maintained that the drugs were planted in her bodyboard bag and that she did not know about them.

Corby was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment in 2005. She ultimately served about nine years behind bars before being granted parole in February 2014.

She had to remain in Indonesia under parole conditions until May 2017, when she was finally allowed to return to Australia.

Nazarenko expressed his remorse during the trial and argued that he had been tricked by Tkachuck into providing the necessary equipment, and that he had no idea how the lab worked.

Bali has long been popular with Russian and Ukrainian tourists but since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 it has become a magnet for thousands of people from those two countries who are seeking to escape the horrors of war.

Visitors from Russia especially have surged.

The case has drawn parralels to that of Shapelle Corby – who was convicted of smuggling cannabis into Indonesia.

Despite their home countries being at war, Russians and Ukrainians have collaborated in crime rings on Indonesia’s most famous holiday island, said Marthinus Hukom, the head of Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency.

‘This is a very unique phenomenon,’ Hukom said.

‘Two countries that are at war but here in Bali, their citizens are partners in crime, engaging in illicit drug trafficking.’

Government data shows that the number of Russian tourists visiting Bali in 2022 was 57,860.

The figure rose significantly each year, reaching 180,215 by the end of 2024.

Bali Police Chief Daniel Adityajaya said the number of Russian citizens accused of committing crimes in Bali in 2023 was 28, a nearly five-fold increase over 2022, including offences such as kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking and disrespecting Balinese culture.

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Man sentenced to LIFE in jail in Bali after making a major mistake on the tourist island

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