7 arrested, 2 charged in absentia for connections with “criminal underworld”
The Ministry said the investigation had established the individuals had identified a client in Turkey who purchased a “large amount” of gold items from them, which were later found to be fake. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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Police have arrested seven individuals for their connections with and membership in “criminal underworld” in Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi, the city of Rustavi and the Black Sea region of Adjara, with two charged in absentia, the Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday.
A total of four individuals were accused of membership in “criminal underworld,” while remaining five persons were arrested for supporting activities of the latter and appealing to its member.
The Ministry said the investigation had established the individuals had identified a client in Turkey who purchased a “large amount” of gold items from them, which were later found to be fake.
The involved individuals then arranged a “thief-in-law trials” to resolve the resulting dispute, the state body said, with Mindia Lavasogli, Jeyran Kintsurashvili and Zviad Papiashvili - members of the “criminal underworld” based abroad - participating in the dispute “personally and remotely”.
Law enforcement seized mobile phones the defendants used to communicate with each other and with the members of the “criminal underworld” abroad.
The crime is punishable by three to 10 years of imprisonment.