72 Arrested in Crackdown on ‘Thieves’ World’ in Adjara
The Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with the State Security Service, arrested 72 individuals in Adjara region during a crackdown on the criminal underworld, the so-called “thieves’ world,” the Georgian Dream Interior Minister Geka Geladze announced during a March 17 press briefing.
Geladze said five additional individuals were charged, some already in penitentiary institutions and others in absentia, including a so-called “thief-in-law,” a term used in the post-Soviet space for senior criminal figures.
The detainees face multiple charges, including “membership in the thieves’ world,” supporting its activities, “participation in a thieves’ gathering,” “appealing to a member of the thieves’ world,” and “being a thief-in-law,” the minister said.
The briefing followed early reports on March 17 of an “unprecedented” operation in Adjara. Subsequent media reports indicated that the operation in the village of Sharabidzeebi, Khelvachauri municipality, resulted in several injuries, including two detainees who reportedly inflicted self-harm, and a 75-year-old woman, the mother of one of the detainees, whose family alleged she was injured in the leg by a gunshot.
Geladze denied the allegations, arguing that the woman sustained minor injuries from shattered window glass after special forces were deployed. He said she received medical assistance and has already been discharged home.
The latest arrests follow what appears to be a growing crackdown in recent months, including a February operation that resulted in 45 arrests, a December operation with 49 arrests, and a November raid in which 34 individuals were detained and one suspect died.
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