Georgian crime boss Lavasogli detained in Rome

Italian media report that Mindia Goradze, known as Lavasogli, considered a so-called “thief-in-law,” was arrested at Rome’s Ciampino Airport on May 22. Goradze had been internationally wanted since September 2023 on charges of leading a criminal organization and tax evasion.

According to ROMATODAY, Italian police’s mobile squad detained Goradze as he attempted to enter a car with German license plates. He was subsequently transferred to Regina Coeli prison.

Goradze has a long history of running a criminal gang and has been sentenced in absentia to a total of 22 years in prison in Georgia for various charges. In July 2018, the Kutaisi City Court found him guilty of criminal group membership, organizing group extortion, and interfering with a journalist’s professional activities through threats of violence, sentencing him to 12 years in prison in absentia. In April 2019, the Batumi City Court sentenced him to an additional 10 years in absentia for similar charges.

In 2021, Goradze was arrested in Ukraine and was awaiting extradition at Odesa Airport. Reports at the time indicated that he had arrived in Odesa from Minsk without proper documents, leading to a decision by border officials to deny him entry and send him back to Belarus. Since then, information on his whereabouts had been scarce until his arrest in Italy.

In his last known arrest prior to this week, Goradze was detained in Tirana, Albania, in 2023 while reportedly using a false passport and a Ukrainian surname to conceal his identity. He was placed in pre-extradition detention.