TBILISI: Georgian Arrested for Alleged Arms Smuggling in U.S.

Civil Georgia, Georgia
March 16 2005

Georgian Arrested for Alleged Arms Smuggling in U.S.

On March 16 Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Bidzina Bregadze
confirmed the reports that a Georgian citizen was part of a group of
suspects arrested in the United States for alleged attempts to import
Russian-made military weapons into the U.S.

`The American side is investigating the case and the Georgian side is
not involved [in the investigation],’ Bregadze said, but refused to
unveil further details of the case.

CNN reported on March 15 that the alleged arm smugglers intended to
import rocket-propelled grenade launchers and shoulder-fired
surface-to-air missiles to the United States. The suspects are mainly
from Armenia, Russia and Georgia, according to CNN.