Hand grenades found in official’s car
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Monday, January 4
Georgia’s Minister of Environmental Protection, Gigla Agulahsvili, has stressed that two hand grenades and a firearm magazine with 30 rounds were found in a car owned by Tbilisi National Park chairperson Levan Kapanadze. The Minister highlighted that this was a retaliatory action from the people who dispute the Ministry’s fight against illegal activity in the environmental protection direction.
Kapanadze confirmed that the weapons were found in the process of washing the car at a special car-wash facility.
“When a car washer found the weapons inside the car I immediately called the police and drew their attention to the ordnance,” Kapanadze said.
He went on to explain the motivation of the planting of the weapons: “My staff are fighting against the illegal cutting of trees, illegal hunting and other unlawful activities. Some people are trying to threaten us as our activities hinder their illegal actions.”
Minister Agulashvili added, “It was not for the first time that such a thing happened in connection with our staff. During the summer, the head of the Lagodekhi Protected Area also found a hand grenade in his car with a writing stuck on it which read 'Warning! Leave the area!'” Agulashvili stated.
The Minister promised that he and all the relevant state bodies would be involved in finding who was responsible.
According to him, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia and other law-enforcement bodies have already been informed over the planting of the weapons in the official's car.
The Minister stressed that everything would be done to prevent an incident of this kind happening again.
