The Denpasar District Court has begun hearing a high-profile criminal case that has caused a wide public outcry in Bali. Twin brothers Ivan and Nikita Volovody from Ukraine are accused of establishing a drug laboratory.
In the indictment, which was read by the prosecutor, the defendants are charged with several crimes under Part 2 of Article 113, Part 1 of Article 132, and Part 2 of Article 114 of Indonesia’s Law No. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics. The minimum sentence they may face is 5 years in prison, and the maximum is the death penalty. There is also an intermediate option—life imprisonment—which experts say is the most likely outcome. They will almost certainly also face a fine of no less than 1 billion rupiah.
The case materials revealed that not all participants are currently on trial. The Volovody brothers’ accomplices, Roman Nazarenko and Alexey Kolotov, are actively being sought by Indonesian law enforcement. According to the criminal case documents, in August 2021, Roman Nazarenko invited Ivan and Nikita Volovody to Bali to organize a drug business, promising significant profits.
“Ivan and Nikita were guaranteed $10,000 for producing a kilogram of mephedrone and $3,000 for a kilogram of marijuana,” prosecutor Imam Ramdhoni stated in court.
In January 2022, Nazarenko, who appears to be the main organizer of the drug business, introduced the accused to Alexey Kolotov, who was presented as an investor. Kolotov was supposed to finance the construction of the drug lab and the production of drugs, while also helping the brothers learn hydroponic methods for growing marijuana.
Kolotov then rented a villa called SunnyVilla in the village of Tibubeneng, North Kuta. They began constructing the drug lab in the villa’s basement and decided to grow marijuana in the garden.
From March 2022 to March 2023, Ivan, Nikita, and Roman started purchasing equipment and materials for the drug lab and drug production from Indonesian and Chinese marketplaces. Several chemicals were purchased for producing mephedrone, while Roman Nazarenko brought cannabis seeds from Romania.
One of the brothers received $30,000 from Alexey Kolotov as payment for procuring and installing the lab equipment. The drugs were later distributed by unsuspecting Gojek drivers, who were unaware of the contents of the parcels. Another participant, Konstantin Kruts, who is also in custody, was responsible for selling the drugs through hidden stashes, receiving payment in cryptocurrency via Binance.
In November 2023, they successfully produced 4 kilograms of mephedrone, which Kruts sold via the darknet.
The first to suspect something illegal was happening at the villa were the neighbors, who reported the suspicious activities of the residents of SunnyVilla to the police. On May 2, 2024, a criminal investigation team from the National Police, together with Bali’s regional police, conducted a raid.
“During the raid, police discovered a drug production lab in the villa’s basement, as well as a hydroponic marijuana field in the garden. The search resulted in the seizure of 437 grams of mephedrone, more than 500 kilograms of chemicals suspected to be used as drug raw materials, as well as 1,834 liters of liquid mephedrone base and production equipment,” the police reported. Ivan and Nikita Volovody were caught red-handed, and Konstantin Kruts was also arrested on the spot. Roman Nazarenko and Alexey Kolotov managed to escape. Whether they have left the country remains unknown.
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