63 linked to criminal underworld charged, Deputy Interior Minister

Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has brought charges against 63 individuals linked to the so-called criminal underworld following intensive nationwide police operations, Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze said on Tuesday. Of those charged, 49 were arrested, while 14 were charged in absentia, including five so-called “thieves-in-law.”

Darakhvelidze noted that the suspects face charges including membership in the criminal underworld, participation in criminal gatherings, supporting criminal underworld activities, being a “thief-in-law,” and appealing to members of the criminal underworld. Most of those detained have prior convictions for serious or particularly serious crimes.

The deputy minister said the operations were conducted on the basis of court warrants. Evidence obtained through covert investigative measures carried out over recent months, also authorized by the courts, established that the defendants maintained contacts with “thieves-in-law” based abroad, carried out their instructions, and were actively involved in criminal underworld activities.

Investigators also found that the suspects organized so-called “criminal arbitrations” both in Georgia and abroad, involving disputing parties and participation by “thieves-in-law” operating from outside the country. During these gatherings, decisions were made in accordance with criminal traditions, and parties were ordered to pay specific sums of money within set timeframes, either to the opposing side or for the benefit of the organizers themselves.

Police said that failure to comply with these demands led to verbal and physical abuse, as well as threats against the lives of family members.

During searches of the suspects’ personal and residential premises, law enforcement officers seized computer equipment and mobile phones used to communicate with one another and with “thieves-in-law” abroad. Firearms were also confiscated as evidence.

The offences carry penalties of up to 15 years’ imprisonment.