Saakashvili Vows to Crackdown on Law Enforcers Linked to Crime

Georgian President convened an emergency session of the National Security Council today regarding the developments in the Samegrelo regional security department.

15 employees of the regional security department in western Georgia, including former chief of the department and his deputy were arrested today after they defied new chief of the regional security service.

“Many law enforcers in western Georgia are linked to the criminal gangs and smuggling. The criminals were ruling in the western Georgia because the local law enforcers were cooperating with them. We will continue crack down on them,” Mikheil Saakashvili said at a new briefing today.

Earlier today dozens of employees of the Samegrelo regional department of the Security Ministry refused to fulfill duties as a protest against the appointment of Temur Gabunia as a chief of Samegrelo regional department. Protesters claimed that Temur Gabunia is “unprofessional.”

“We will continue new appointments and will fire all the employees of the Security Ministry, which are suspected in links with the criminal clans. We will meet opposition from them, but we will not step back. We will clean up the Ministry from criminal elements,” Deputy Security Minister Gigi Ugulava told reporters.