Police Arrest 49 Over Links with ‘Thieves’ World’
Georgian police arrested 49 people linked with the so-called “thieves’ world,” in a major nationwide operation targeting a criminal underworld, Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze announced on December 16.
According to Darakhvelidze, 14 more were “brought to justice” in absentia, including five “thieves-in-law” – a term reserved for crime bosses in the post-Soviet space. The suspects face charges covering membership in a criminal underworld, participation in criminal gatherings, support of criminal activities, holding the status of a “thief-in-law,” and appealing to members of the criminal underworld, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
“The evidence established that the defendants were in contact with so-called thieves-in-law residing abroad, carried out their instructions and actively participated in the activities of the thieves’ world,” he said.
Darakhvelidze said investigators also found that “so-called thief arbitrations were organized at various times in Georgia and abroad,” with the participation of suspects and foreign-based crime leaders.
“At these gatherings, decisions were made in accordance with thief-in-law traditions, obliging one party in a dispute to pay a certain amount of money to the other party or in their favor within a specified period,” he said, adding that those who failed to comply “were subjected to verbal and physical abuse” and “were threatened with the killing of family members.”
The arrests follow similar major operations targeting the criminal underworld, including one in November that resulted in dozens of arrests and the death of one suspect.
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