Police arrest suspect over fake-phone pawnshop fraud in Tbilisi

Police in Tbilisi have arrested one person accused of defrauding pawnshops using imitation mobile phones made from plaster, Georgia’s Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

Officers from the Vake-Saburtalo Main Division of the Tbilisi Police Department arrested the suspect at a pawnshop while he was allegedly attempting to pawn a mobile phone with a falsified identification code.

Police opened the box presented by the suspect and found a plaster object made to resemble a mobile phone instead of a functioning device, the MIA press office said.

Investigators said the suspect and an accomplice had previously pawned six similar imitation phones at different pawnshops, causing significant financial losses to the companies.

Police also seized part of the money allegedly obtained through the scheme, as well as imitation phone models and forged warranty documents.

A second person allegedly involved in the scheme has not been arrested. Police said measures are under way to locate and detain the individual.

The offences carry a maximum sentence of up to nine years in prison.