Interior Ministry nearly doubles crime detection rate over past two months, Mdinaradze

Georgia's Interior Ministry has nearly doubled its crime detection and clearance rate over the past two months compared with the same period last year, Vice Prime Minister and State Minister responsible for coordinating law enforcement agencies Mamuka Mdinaradze said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a briefing, Mdinaradze described the Ministry's recent performance as "particularly impressive," adding that more than 6,000 individuals had been charged with various offences during the period, including more than 500 alleged drug dealers and individuals involved in drug trafficking.

"During this period, the Interior Ministry arrested and charged nearly 100 people with offences linked to the criminal underworld. In line with the new approach adopted by the law enforcement system, the Ministry is achieving notable success not only in solving crimes but also in preventing them in real time, and the results are already becoming clearly visible," he said.

The Vice Prime Minister also highlighted the Ministry's recent operation targeting the trafficking of minors, describing the alleged exploitation of suspects' own children as "particularly disturbing."

"It is extremely disturbing that suspects allegedly involved their own minor children in a trafficking scheme. However, the Interior Ministry is also ensuring the maximum possible prevention of such crimes," Mdinaradze said.

He further noted that the Finance Ministry's Investigation Service had recently uncovered what he described as an unprecedented large-scale criminal scheme involving the illegal distribution of prescription pharmaceuticals.

Separately, Mdinaradze praised the Special State Protection Service on the occasion of its 32nd anniversary, saying it had reached an unprecedented level of development.

According to him, the agency currently provides protection for 18 senior state officials, 104 strategically important facilities, diplomatic missions in Georgia, as well as visiting foreign delegations and major international events.

He said the Service had recently upgraded its communications infrastructure with a highly encrypted system meeting international standards and was acquiring an advanced counter-drone system capable of detecting and neutralising dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles simultaneously within a 5-6-kilometre radius.

"Thanks to the measures already implemented and those planned, the Service has never been as advanced as it is today and stands out for its capabilities not only in our region," Mdinaradze said.