Georgian police arrest 45 over alleged links to criminal underworld

Georgia’s Interior Ministry on Tuesday announced police had detained 45 people over alleged links to the so-called criminal underworld during operations carried out in capital Tbilisi and other regions over the past 24 hours.

The director of the Tbilisi Police Department, Vazha Siradze, said a further 15 individuals will be formally charged, some while already in prison and others in absentia. 

Among them are three alleged “thieves-in-law”, a term used in the post-Soviet space to describe senior figures in organised crime.

Siradze noted those involved have been accused of offences including membership of the criminal underworld, supporting its activities, appealing to its members, and holding the status of a “thief-in-law”.

He further noted covert investigative measures, carried out intensively on the basis of court warrants, revealed that so-called criminal arbitration sessions were being organised with the participation of suspects and disputing parties. 

Investigators alleged that two thieves-in-law based abroad, Sulkhan Japaridze, known as Sukho, and Petre Bakradze, known as Paata Tbilisski, were involved in resolving financial disputes between citizens, issuing decisions in favour of one side in line with criminal traditions.

The investigation has also found that another alleged thief-in-law, Revaz Ubilava, known as Jvarski, organised similar arbitrations with the assistance of his mother and brother. Police said both were detained along with other suspects.

During searches of personal and residential properties, officers seized computers and mobile phones, which they say were used to communicate with each other and with criminal figures and thieves-in-law based abroad. Various types of narcotic substances were also recovered.

The investigation is being conducted under several articles of Georgia’s Criminal Code related to organised crime, which carry potential prison sentences of up to 15 years.

Siradze said combating organised crime, particularly activities linked to the criminal underworld, remained a top priority for the Interior Ministry, adding that authorities would act with the “full force of the law” to protect public order and citizens’ safety.