Drug Lab Discovered In Canggu Shocks Bali’s Booming Tourist Village 

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News that a drug lab has been uncovered in Bali’s Canggu has rocked the tourism island.

Four people have been arrested, including three foreign nationals, in connection with the narcotics production facility raided by the Bali Police and National Narcotics Agency, as confirmed by the authorities in a press conference on Monday, the 13th of May 2024.

Footage from the drug lab located beneath a villa in Canggu shows a full-scale hydroponics system for growing marijuana and a laboratory set up for the production of mephedrone.

The initial raid was conducted on the property in Canggu on the 2nd of May, with more details revealed by the authorities this week as the investigation remains underway. 

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Two Ukrainian brothers, known by their initials IV and MV, and a Russian citizen known by his initials KK, have been arrested in connection with the clandestine drug operation on the island.

Top officials are also investigating this drug lab as a suspected asset of the Indonesian-born international drug kingpin Fredy Pratama.

Speaking in a press conference on the 5th of May, the Head of Countermeasures, Abuse, and Illegal Circulation (P3GN), Inspector General Asep Edi Suheri, told the media that a series of raids and arrests connected to the network had been completed.

He said, “The total confiscation of assets from the Fredy Pratama network is worth IDR 432.20 billion.” 

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The initial investigation has confirmed that brothers IV and MV masterminded the production of narcotics.

KK is believed to have acted as the distributor, and an Indonesian citizen with the initials LM, who has also been arrested, acted as a facilitator and the account holder as part of the Fredy Pratama network. 

During the raid of the Canggu villa and the accommodation of the arrestees, hundreds of kilograms of a range of production chemicals and specialist equipment for making drugs such as mephedrone and hydroponic marijuana were seized.

This is in addition to 9,799g of hydroponic marijuana and 437g of mephedrone. Via KK and LM, an additional 382.19 g of marijuana, 484.92 g of hashish, 107.95 g of cocaine, and 6kg of methamphetamine were also seized. 

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During the press conference, the Head of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Kabareskrim), Komjen Pol Wahyu Widada, revealed that the drugs lab had been set up in September 2023.

He confirmed, “If we look inside, there is a room for a bunker, there is a hydroponic area, there are also air ducts that have been prepared so that they have air circulation from outside, including inside the box, so that it doesn’t disturb, because of this the smell must be different, there is a smell, and there is a sound so that the neighbors don’t hear it next door. They built the bottom themselves with their own design.” 

Widada confirmed that the drugs were marketed via a series of Telegram groups and on the dark web.

The group advertised their operation in ‘covert’ tags, and ads graffitied onto street corners and walls in the Canggu area and Ubud. The operation was branded as Hydra Indonesia.

Widada explained, “For drug transactions, [they] used the Telegram application. The site address is posted everywhere; maybe if ordinary people see it, they wouldn’t know, but it turns out it is a code for people to buy drugs.”

The Director of Narcotics Crime, Polri Brigadier General Mukti Juharsa, said that the brothers are thought to have an educational background in chemistry.

He said “They taught themselves online but I think they are chemists too. Some of the ingredients they bought online, some from China, some from Romania, they have produced marijuana twice.”

It is suspected that during the 6-months operation of the lab the group turnover a profit of over IDR 4 billion. Transactions are believed to have been mostly completed with cryptocurrency. 

Widada told reporters, “The estimated value of all the drug evidence that was secured in this arrest is around IDR 11.5 billion. But that is outside of the previous material. If this material had been finished, it would have been even greater.” 

Police are currently working to track down two more individuals who are connected with the Canggu Drugs Lab. Two men from Ukraine were identified as RNs and OK.

The four men charged with the suspects were charged with Article 114 paragraph (2), subsidiary Article 113 paragraph (2), Article 112 paragraph (2), more subsidiary Article 129 letter A, and Article 111 paragraph (2) in conjunction with Article 132 paragraph (1) of the Law – RI Law Number 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics with a minimum penalty of 5 years in prison and a maximum penalty of death as well as a minimum fine of IDR 1 billion and a maximum of IDR 10 billion.

There are currently over 150 people on death row in Indonesia, most of whom have been convicted of drug charges.

It is believed that one-third of death row inmates in Indonesia are foreigners; the last execution by firing squad took place in 2016.