Stateless ‘thief-in-law’ wanted by France arrested in Yerevan

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. A 43-year-old stateless ‘thief-in-law’ wanted by France has been arrested in Yerevan on November 6 by officers of the general department of criminal intelligence of Armenian police.

Merab Kalashov is wanted by French law enforcement agencies since 2015 for conspiracy to commit a crime, money laundering and organized crime activities. The man does not have citizenship of any country.

Police has contacted the Armenian general prosecution and Interpol on his arrest.

This phenomenon, known as thief-in-law, emerged in the infamous Soviet gulags and became a prison culture in most of post-Soviet states.

“Thief-in-law” is a specifically granted formal status of aprofessional criminal who enjoys an elite position within theorganized crime environment and employs informal authority over its lower-status members.Criminals are “crowned” as thieves-in-law by senior members of the organized crime syndicates for many years of contributions to the criminal business or long record behind bars.

Thieves-in-law are known for their distinctive tattoos and code of conduct.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan