Georgian crime leader arrested in Spain after celebrity house robbery

The Spanish police has arrested Georgian criminal Gocha Maisuradze following house robberies in Barcelona that included breaking into the home of pop singer Shakira and football player Gerard Pique.

Special agents of the law enforcement arrested Maisuradze —  known by his criminal alias "Gogita" — who led organised crime groups in their activities, Spanish media reported earlier today.

Maisuradze was arrested along with eight of his entourage last week, with the officers leading investigation classifying the group as “dangerous and active organized criminal gang”, said the report by the website Estrella Digital.

The Georgian-born “thief in law” had assumed a leadership position among the criminals in the Catalan region and “directed a true criminal industry”, the website said.

Appointed by a Georgian Mafia network, the figurehead supervised criminal activity in his sphere of influence and “taxed” other groups that conducted their crimes in the area.

His dealings also involved directing robberies of flats and houses belonging to celebrities on the Mediterranean coast.

These included a 700-square metre mansion belonging to Shakira and Pique in the Esplugues de Llobregat district, which was robbed earlier this year.

The robbers broke into the house when the couple’s parents were at home, without being noticed due to a storm that concealed any noise of their activity.

They took watches and jewellery without leaving fingerprints in the building before leaving.

Spanish law enforcement professionals had characterised the group to the media as “very professional”, following the robbery.