UPDATED: Hostages freed, operation underway to arrest robber of Bank of Georgia branch in Kvareli, Kakheti
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Updated: 18:22
All hostages held captive by an armed bank robber have been released and an operation is underway to arrest the assailant of the Bank of Georgia branch in the Kvareli district of eastern Georgian region of Kakheti.
Head of the Strategic Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Keti Kovziashvili said that the hostages are unharmed and are in a safe place.
Earlier: 16:43
An armed man is currently holding 10-15 individuals hostage in a hold up of a Bank of Georgia branch in the Kvareli district of eastern Georgia, witnesses on the ground say.
He is allegedly holding a hand-grenade and is demanding half a million GEL.
Police are at the scene and trying to ensure safety.
We are taking all necessary actions at the scene," said the ministry.
The man has not been identified so far.
Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri has stated that he has reliable information that Badri Esebua, the Zugdidi bank robber who took hostages, escaped with half a million USD and has been hiding for eight months, is still in Georgia.
Brother of Badri Esebua, the Zugdidi bank robber who took hostages and escaped with half a million USD, was detained yesterday for the illegal purchase and possession of firearms and ammunition.
A Bank of Georgia branch in Digomi, Tbilisi was robbed earlier today.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has announced today that the armed attacker on the Bank of Georgia branch in the western town of Zugdidi has been identified. However, the ministry calls on all media outlets and the public not to reveal the identity or a photograph of the offender, in case they somehow happen to receive information, in order not to interfere in the police investigation.
The armed robber who attacked the Bank of Georgia branch in Kvareli, eastern Georgian region of Kakheti earlier today has been detained. The man, who held 10-15 individuals hostage in a hold up of a Bank of Georgia branch, allegedly demanded half a million GEL. The individual, identified only as Sh.M. and born in 1972, was detained for holding 13 individuals hostage, as well as illegal purchase and possession of ammunition.