Police detain 5 in Batumi for extorting tourists
The age of the detainees ranges between 25 and 30. Photo: Interior Ministry press office.
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Five individuals have been detained in the Georgian coastal city of Batumi for extorting tourists, the Georgian Interior Ministry stated today.
The ministry says that the detainees forced tourists to pay money for meals they had not ordered, or pay larger sums than indicated on the menu in clubs.
The total amount of money extorted by the people in the two Batumi clubs [from eight tourists] amounted to 2,100 EUR and 3,800 USD,” the ministry reported.
The crime is punishable by 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.
Georgia hosted 305,939 tourists in January 2019, showing an increase of 5.9% year-on-year (y/y) announces the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA).
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.