Family feud lands two mob bosses in police custody

Armenia’s police have detained two suspected mob bosses described as “thieves in law” after a family dispute allegedly escalated into a confrontation and an attempted act of retaliation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.

A 58-year-old Gyumri resident described as a so-called “thief in law,” the highest rank in the criminal underworld’s hierarchy, which has been outlawed in Armenia, allegedly asked another “thief in law,” a 56-year-old Oshakan resident, to punish his former son-in-law after the latter had argued with his daughter.

The 56-year-old and a group of people allegedly assaulted the former son-in-law in Yerevan, prompting him to seek retaliation. However, he failed to carry out the alleged crime, the Ministry said.

The two alleged “thieves in law” were detained and presented to the investigative body. Measures are being taken to identify the other participants in the incidents. The investigation is ongoing.

Criminal subculture—a hierarchy-based code of conduct among criminal groups, originally believed to have emerged in Soviet prisons and associated with the self-styled “thieves-in-law”—has been outlawed in Armenia since the passage of anti-mafia legislation in 2020.