One suspect was killed and a police officer was wounded as Georgian authorities said they had detained 34 people during a large-scale operation targeting members and supporters of the so-called “Thieves’ World,” a term used to describe a criminal underworld network.
According to Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, one of the suspects, 1973-born Mirza Aliyev, opened intensive fire on special task force officers who arrived at his home in Kabali village, in Georgia’s eastern Lagodekhi region, to execute a court-ordered detention warrant on November 5. One officer was shot in the chest and sustained serious injuries, after which police returned fire, killing Aliyev at the spot, Darakhvelidze said.
Aliyev’s relatives from Kabali, a village near Georgia’s border with Azerbaijan, told the media after Darakhvelidze’s briefing that he likely mistook the officers for burglars, as the police entered his home masked and without warning. One man, identified by Palitra News as Aliyev’s relative, confirmed that Aliyev did fire first and that his family members were inside the house when the shooting occurred.
According to investigators, months of covert investigative operations revealed that the detained individuals illegally mediated financial disputes between citizens, maintained contact with crime bosses abroad, and held so-called “thieves’ trials” (kurduli garcheva) where they extorted money and issued death threats.
“Elmuraz Mamedov, a criminal authority, was actively involved in this criminal activity along with other persons and played a prominent role,” Darakhvelidze noted.
The authorities said they seized during home raids computer equipment and mobile phones, through which the suspects allegedly contacted each other as well as “thieves-in-law” abroad. “Narcotic substances, firearms, and large amounts of money were also seized.”
The investigation is under several articles of the Criminal Code, including membership of the criminal underworld, supporting the criminal groups, murder with aggravating factors, and extortion. All suspects face up to 15 years in prison. Charges have also been filed in absentia against seven others, including two inmates, four individuals abroad, and one “thief-in-law,” a title reserved for the most influential figures in the network.
In a related operation, Tbilisi police detained Davit Chubinidze, security chief for businessman Davit Mikadze. Mikadze, along with his brother, has been linked to the high-profile March assassination of businessman Levan Jangveladze, brother of Merab Jangveladze, an influential “thief-in-law.”
According to Darakhvelidze, investigators established that in September 2021, Chubinidze and Davit Mikadze jointly took possession of five firearms registered to Vakhtang Kobiashvili and unlawfully sold one to a third party. Chubinidze has been charged with the acquisition-possession-carrying of firearms, Article 236(6), and their illegal seizure, 237(3), while Mikadze, who is reportedly abroad, has been charged in absentia.
Also Read:
- 24/10/2025 – Former Law Enforcer Handed Life Sentence Over Levan Jangveladze’s Contract Killing
- 05/09/2025 – Police Detain 30 Over Links with ‘Thieves’ World’
- 19/08/2025 – Police Arrest 37 Across Georgia in Three Days Over Firearms, Ammunition
- 14/08/2025 – Businessman Arrested over Contract Killing amid Concerns of Criminal Culture Resurgence
- 03/02/2018 – Georgia to Criminalize Aiding ‘Thieves-in-Law’
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