Tbilisi police detained an organized criminal group engaged in extorting money from foreign tourists. This was reported to journalists in the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.
According to the investigation, the organized crime group consisted of 13 people – local residents and citizens of Armenia. The scheme of fraud was quite simple, but effective: the girls met foreigners on the street and invited them to Kalakuri or Royal nightclubs. Already in the institution, the companions persuaded the guests to order food and drinks for them. However, after they brought the bill, the tourists realized that the amount of the order turned out to be much more than expected.
Some scam victims refused to pay. In this case, men of strong build approached them and threatened them with the use of physical force.
During the investigation, during a search of nightclubs, money was found that the criminals seized from visitors in the national currencies of different countries. Among them: 980 lari, 2.7 thousand dollars, 1.8 thousand euros, 64.5 thousand rubles, 500 Swiss francs, 712 Arab dirhams and 3.5 thousand Australian dollars.
“Their criminal actions caused serious damage to the image of Georgia as a tourist country and the reputation of a safe environment in our state,” the Georgian Interior Ministry concluded.