DENPASAR, DEWATA.NEWS – An Indonesian prosecutor has demanded a 12-year prison sentence for a Ukrainian national accused of smuggling cocaine through I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.
During a court hearing at the Denpasar District Court on Tuesday (January 13), prosecutors stated that Kateryna Vakarova (21) was proven to have violated Indonesia’s criminal code related to narcotics smuggling. The prosecution also sought a fine of IDR 1 billion, with a subsidiary sentence of six months in prison if unpaid.
Public prosecutor I Made Dipa Umbara told the court that the defendant attempted to smuggle nearly two kilograms of Category I narcotics through the international arrival terminal at Ngurah Rai Airport in Tuban, Badung.
The panel of judges, chaired by Ni Kadek Kusuma Wardani, heard that the narcotics involved were identified as 4-CMC, also known as 4-chloromethcathinone or “klefedron,” a synthetic drug associated with hallucinatory and paranoid effects.
The defendant’s legal counsel, Lukman Hakim, said the defense will submit a formal plea next week in response to the prosecution’s demands.
According to the indictment, the case dates back to August 3, 2025, when Vakarova arrived in Bali on Qatar Airways flight QR260 from Warsaw via Doha. The aircraft landed at Ngurah Rai Airport at around 01:00 WITA.
Customs officers became suspicious during an X-ray inspection of the defendant’s luggage and alerted officers from the Bali National Narcotics Agency (BNNP Bali), who subsequently detained and searched her.
Authorities found six packages containing white solid substances identified as 4-CMC. The total evidence weighed 2,120 grams gross, or 1,991.25 grams net.
In court, the defendant claimed she had communicated with an unknown individual via the OLX application and stated she did not know who owned the drugs or who placed them inside her suitcase. She also told investigators that this was her first time carrying such items and that she had been promised a payment of around USD 500, or approximately IDR 8 million.
The trial is ongoing, with the court scheduled to hear the defense plea before moving toward a verdict.