Russian Woman Behind Mephedrone Lab in Bali Suspected After Renewal of Residence Permit

An alleged Russian citizen named Natalia Tomberg alias NA was arrested for cooking mephedrone at a drug laboratory located in a villa on Jalan Padat Karya, Desa Saba, Blahbatu District, Gianyar Regency. The 29-year-old Russian woman was detected after applying to renew her residence permit at the immigration office. ‘We checked the service data; she was renewing her residence permit,’ said Ngurah Rai Immigration Chief Bugie Kurniawan at a press conference at the villa on Saturday, 7 March 2026. Bugie explained Natalia had been in Bali since early January 2026. It was her first visit to Indonesia. She had not been detected by authorities before. Immigration then received information about drug production activities involving Natalia. After reviewing service data, it was found that Natalia had just applied for a renewal of her residence permit online. ‘The person in question had just renewed the permit. She still lives in Bali and has no plans to return to her country,’ he said. After obtaining information about Natalia, officials coordinated with the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) to tail her. Tomberg was eventually arrested at the villa after being tailed by officers. ‘After obtaining her identity, we tailed Natalia until we could uncover the case at this villa,’ he said. Earlier reports stated Natalia was the second person arrested in the Bali mephedrone production case. Previously, a Russian man named Sergei Tras alias ST was arrested first. He is said to be a former member of Russian military intelligence who acted as a courier. He received shipments of various imported chemicals from China to be taken to the villa in Desa Saba. Meanwhile, Natalia, described as having a biology background, was responsible for mixing chemicals into mephedrone daily. The activity took place from 12:00 WITA to 04:00 WITA at the villa. Indonesian legislature’s Commission III member I Nyoman Parta urged villa owners to be more vigilant of tenants’ activities, especially those renting on a self-service basis. ‘To all accommodation owners, especially those who let without staff, monitor their premises. Do not just take the money,’ Parta said. He added there are several CCTV cameras installed inside the villa. He said owners should use them to monitor tenant activity. ‘The villa has CCTV and has been inhabited for a month, yet the foreign occupant’s activities were not checked via CCTV,’ he said.