The investigation claims that a criminal group was formed in 2022. I came to Georgia from the U.S. in 2023, said Kartlos Jalabadze, detained on charges of illegal production of alcohol and untaxed cigarettes by an organized group, during a court hearing.

As he explained, he only knows two of the detained individuals but had no form of communication with them.

“I know Giorgi Kavtaradze and Boris Gogichaishvili; I don’t even have their phone numbers, I only know them from our city, Gori. Why am I here, why am I sitting here? It’s unimaginable that I’m here; I don’t have any ‘dealings’ with anyone, nor have I sent any messages. I haven’t even made a phone call to these two individuals—shouldn’t there be some communication record? I don’t even know the others. Why didn’t they seize anything or check whether I had any connection before?

I came back from the U.S. in 2023. I saw Giorgi Kandelaki last year, a year ago, at my 22-year-old nephew’s memorial. As for Mr. Boris, I saw him at a condolence gathering, and I haven’t seen him since. Two months ago, I heard he has some illness and is in Turkey. Maybe the investigator should look into the case,” Jalabadze stated.

For reference, the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance seized 75,137 bottles of alcoholic beverages and 318,000 packs of untaxed cigarettes, in connection with which seven individuals, including Giorgi Kandelaki, were detained. They were charged under Articles 200 (parts 3 and 4) of the Criminal Code (production and storage of excisable goods subject to mandatory marking without an excise stamp by an organized group in particularly large quantities) and Article 196 (part 3) (production of goods illegally marked with another’s trademark or registered trade name in large quantities), which carry penalties of seven to ten years of imprisonment.

According to the investigation, since 2022, the accused, with the intent of illegally obtaining financial benefits, formed an organized criminal group.

They had set up infrastructure and full technical equipment for committing the crime on a leased plot of land in the city of Gori, where they systematically produced and stored alcoholic beverages—whiskey and vodka—subject to mandatory excise marking without excise stamps, for the purpose of their subsequent sale.

The detained individuals are: Giorgi Kandelaki, Boris Gogichaishvili, Tengiz Gulordava, Aleko Kurtanidze, Kartlos Jalabadze, Giorgi Bibilashvili, and Giorgi Kavtaradze.