Georgian-Spanish cooperation leads to detention of 129 members of criminal group
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The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced today that 129 members of an Armenian-Georgian criminal group were detained with the active involvement of Georgia, Europol and Interpol.
Out of the 129 detainees two are Georgian citizens identified as P.J. and M.K. Most of the detainees are Armenians. Seven of them are criminal bosses.
More than 800 Spanish law enforcers were involved in the raid conducted in several cities of Spain. The special operation aimed to detain the members of a criminal group headed by Armenian criminal bosses and the Georgian brothers surnamed Shushanashvili,” the Georgian Interior Ministry stated.
The Interior Ministry announced that the investigation to crack down on the criminal group started two and a half years ago.
During the earlier stage of the investigation, on November 28, 2017, more than 30 members of a Georgian criminal group were detained,” the ministry stated.
The Interior Ministry reported that P.J. owned an illegal processor of precious stones and used it to melt or process stolen jewelry.
Another Georgian detainee M.K. had been laundering money gained through the illegal activities of the criminal group, the ministry stated.
Both of the Georgian detainees are charged with membership in a criminal group and money laundering.
The other detainees have been charged for membership in a criminal group, drug trafficking, money laundering, robbery, illegal trade of cars, cigarette contraband, corruption in sport games, illegal possession of firearms and fraudulence.
All the detainees will face trials in Spain.
Four Georgian members of a criminal group have been detained in Madrid several days ago with the help of Georgia’s Interior Ministry, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has reported.
Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has stated they are involved in a large-scale anti-mafia operation in Madrid, Catalonia and several other locations in Spain.
Four Georgian criminal bosses and 34 Georgian members of criminal groups were detained in France and Greece on April 16-17 through cooperation with the Georgian Interior Ministry.
Fifteen Georgians are among the 33 members of a Russian gang who were charged for alleged racketeering, fraud, narcotics, firearms, and stolen property offenses in the United States on Wednesday.
The Italian police has arrested members of a Georgian criminal gang that robbed the house of the parents of Italy‘s Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini, as the group travelled across Europe performing burglaries.
Georgian and French law enforcers have conducted a joint investigation and special operation in France which led to the detention of members of an organised criminal group on 13 February, Georgian Interior Ministry has reported today.
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has detained five Georgian citizens in cooperation with Irish and Spanish police for storing and producing fake IDs in Dublin and Barcelona on December 9, Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs reports.
Four citizens of Georgia have been detained for robbery in Italy, local media report.
Cooperation in the field of law enforcement and the importance of further deepening future relations between Georgian and Spanish agencies were in focus of a meeting between Vakhtang Gomelauri, the Georgian Interior Minister and his Spanish counterpart Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gómez in Spain on Tuesday.