YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. Georgia’s interior minister Shalva Khutsishvili said they have registered 325 thieves in law who live in post-Soviet countries and European Union countries.

He briefed the parliamentary committees of foreign relations and European integration on the agreement on tactical and strategic cooperation between Georgian police and European police, which was formed in April.

The committees approved the agreement, and it is due to be ratified in the plenary session.

“325 thieves in law of Georgian descent have been registered, and a very small part of them are incarcerated in Georgian prisons, the remaining ones are located in post-Soviet territory and EU countries”, he said.

A thief in law (Russian: вор в зако́не, tr. vor v zakone) is a specifically granted formal status of a professional criminal who enjoys an elite position within the organized crime syndicate and employs informal authority over its lower-status members. A thief in law is similar to a mafia boss.