THE HAGUE: European police have arrested 18 suspected members of a Georgian crime gang, confiscating weapons, drugs and cash in one of its most significant blows against Russian-speaking mafia groups on the continent, Europol said yesterday.
Police carried out simultaneous raids in the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Portugal in the early hours of Tuesday, the continent’s policing agency said in a statement.
The raids were also backed by Belgian, German and Polish law enforcement, Europol said.
Of the 18 suspects belonging to the Georgian Kutaisi clan, 13 are so-called “Vor v zakone”, meaning “thieves in law” who acts as leaders, controllers and regulators within the Russian-speaking mafia.
“It is the first time that such a high number of thieves in law have been arrested simultaneously,” Europol said from its headquarters in The Hague.
“This is one of the most significant blows against clans controlled by this high-ranking elite in the world of Russian-speaking organised crime,” it added.
Police confiscated weapons and drugs as well as 100,000 euros ($134,000) in cash during the busts, which came after an 18-month investigation. eorgian “mafia gangs”, who have been operating in Western Europe and especially France since the break-up of the Soviet Union, are very well structured and hierarchical, French police have said.
They are also believed to be behind “score-settling” attacks within the Georgian expatriate community.
“For several years the power balance... has been in turmoil because of an ongoing conflict between the two main Georgian clans” called the Tbilisi and Kutaisi, Europol said.
After a Tbilisi clan leader was assassinated in Moscow in January, a new power vacuum developed with various violent attempts by key players to strengthen their positions, it said.
“European Union countries have become a shelter for them to avoid investigation and prosecution in their home jurisdictions,” Europol said.AFP
