Georgian Interior Ministry, Prosecutor's Office solve transnational illegal drug-dealing crime
Kupatadze added practising lawyers, identified only through their initials, who have been managing the bank accounts of the organised crime group, converting the money into foreign currency and transferring them to the accounts of persons involved in the illegal drug dealing, were among the arrested. Photo via Interior Ministry
Tweet 
Share
Georgian Interior Ministry, together with the Prosecutor’s Office solved a transnational crime involving drug-dealing scheme, identified dozens of members of the criminal group and arrested 22 individuals, Teimuraz Kupatadze, the head of the Central Criminal Police department said on Thursday at the press briefing.
Kupatadze said citizens of Georgia, Bulgaria and Turkey were among those detained and noted that as a result of police operation carried out in in the Black Sea coastline region of Adjara, three leaders of the organised crime group have been charged on Tuesday in absentia.
He added practising lawyers, identified only through their initials, who have been managing the bank accounts of the organised crime group, converting the money into foreign currency and transferring them to the accounts of persons involved in the illegal drug dealing, were among the arrested.
As the investigation established, the organised crime group illegally imported large amounts of narcotics, including heroin, cocaine, buprenorphine, methadone, methamphetamine, amphetamine and mdma, into Georgia.
The offenders placed drugs in different spots, with intention of delivery to buyers, and laundered the illegally obtained money.
The law enforcement had seized a large amount of various types of narcotics, vehicles, firearms and ammunition during the personal search and search of residential houses as part of the arrests.
Computer equipment and mobile phones used for communication between the group were also seized.
The crime is punishable up to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia has charged three individuals and 13 legal entities with money laundering in a case involving transnational crime, the state body announced on Thursday.
Georgian police on Thursday said law enforcement officers had arrested 52 individuals on drug-related charges, including 37 for drug-dealing, sale, purchase, possession and smuggling of drugs, in capital Tbilisi and other regions of the country.
Law enforcement officers have arrested 58 individuals, including 31 drug dealers, for the sale, purchase, possession and smuggling of drugs across the country over the recent period, Georgian police said on Thursday.
The Georgian Prosecutor General’s Office on Thursday said it had solved a transnational crime and launched criminal prosecution against seven individuals for fraudulent appropriation of $217,000 (₾596,612) from three large international companies.
Customs officers of the Georgian Revenue Service seized 9.3 kilograms of Ketamine from a Ukrainian citizen at the Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia’s capital, the body said on Wednesday.
Georgian police on Tuesday said law enforcement officers had arrested more than 10 individuals, including a Ukrainian citizen, on drug-related charges in ongoing operations across the country.
Georgian police on Tuesday said law enforcement officers had arrested 46 individuals on drug-related charges, including 36 for drug-dealing violations, in capital Tbilisi and other regions of the country.
Georgian police on Wednesday said law enforcement officers had arrested 112 individuals on drug-related charges, including 66 for drug-dealing, in capital Tbilisi and other regions of the country.
Interior Ministry statistics show 4,023 out of 5,492 individuals tested for drug use had confirmed cases of use across Georgia over the past year, with the figures including 10 minors.