Police detain 4 in Batumi for extorting tourists
The detainees face up to seven years in prison if the crime is confirmed. Photo:Interior Ministry press office.
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Four individuals have been detained in the Georgian coastal city of Batumi for extorting tourists, the Georgian Interior Ministry stated today.
The ministry reports that the detainees forced tourists to pay more money for meals than they had to.
The detainees made threats to the individuals [to kill them] and forced them to pay 2,580 Turkish Lira ($450) and 500 GEL($134),” the ministry stated.
The detainees are the citizens of Georgia.
They face four to seven years in prison.
The military police of Georgia’s Defence Ministry has detained two conscripts for alleged financial extortion and physical abuse of a recruit at the Krtsanisi training centre.
Georgia’s Black Sea region of Adjara attracted 1,931,179 international travellers in 2018, 14.7% more compared to 2017, announces the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara Autonomous Republic.
Foreign tourists spent $164.5 million in Georgia last month, which is five times more than the income received in the same month of the last year, the Georgian National Tourism Administration of the Ministry of Economy of Georgia has reported.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has been investigating the case of extortion for certain services at Batumi night clubs since May 18.
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has detained the manager of Black Rose night club in Tbilisi for unauthorized access to a computer system and forcefully extorting money.