Russian crime boss killed in Antalya


Russian media outlets identified a man killed in the Mediterranean city of Antalya on Sunday as a renowned crime boss.

Sixty-year-old Gaioz Giorkhelidze was walking to his home in the city's Kemer district in the company of Giga, his 27-year-old son, when two men wearing ski masks drove by and fired six shots. The father succumbed to his wounds, while his son sustained a leg injury.

Giorkhelidze, a Russian of Georgian origin, goes by nickname Giya Kutaissky and was active in Russia's Rostov region. Russian media outlets reported that his turf war with another mobster might be the reason for the attack.

Police detained "multiple" suspects in connection with the attack, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported, adding that the attack's "Russia and Georgia" connections were also being investigated. Speaking to AA, eyewitness Muammer Bahadur said he was at the balcony of his house when he heard "a blast." "I heard people screaming and saw someone wearing a ski mask getting into a car. I rushed downstairs and saw a man lying in a pool of blood," he said. Bahadur said he did not know Giorkhelidze well but said "hello" when he saw him during the latter's morning walks. Bahadur said Giorkhelidze seemed "a modest guy" and he always saw "expensive cars" parked outside his house.