Police detain 26 individuals with ties to “criminal underworld”
Photo: Georgian Interior Ministry
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, in cooperation with the General Prosecutor’s Office, on Friday detained 26 individuals in the capital city of Tbilisi, Imereti and Samegrelo regions on charges of membership, participation and supporting the activities of a criminal underworld.
Four individuals were charged in absentia, three of whom were “thieves in law”. The committed crimes envision up to 15 years in prison.
As a result of secret covert actions carried out by law enforcement officers over several months on the basis of a judge’s ruling, it was established that the detained members and supporters of the “criminal underworld” were involved in resolving financial disputes between citizens.
The defendants, in order to obtain personal gain, contacted “thieves in law” abroad and organised “criminal skirmish.”
According to the information obtained by the investigation, the defendants made decisions in accordance with the so-called thieves' traditions and imposed payments on one of the disputing parties in favour of another, as well as on their own behalf.
As a result of the personal search of the defendants and their residential homes, the police seized computer equipment and mobile phones as evidence, through which they communicated with each other and with “thieves in law” abroad. Firearms, clamps, cartridges and the drug “marijuana” were also seized.
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