What is Happening in Poti: Cars Being Robbed on the Road

According to the "Jamanak" newspaper, several citizens importing cars to Armenia have found themselves in a dire situation. The issue is that they have imported cars through auctions, and when these vehicles arrived in Armenia, it turned out that some parts of the cars were missing. In other words, people spent money on buying the cars and transporting them from one country to another, only to receive incomplete vehicles.

“Jamanak” learned that in such cases, car importers incur huge financial losses because they are forced to replace the "stolen" parts or sell the vehicle at a lower price to the buyer. In many cases, buyers even refuse to purchase the car, leaving the importer to keep it idle for months until a new buyer is found. Moreover, the missing car parts are mostly noted right at the Poti port.

This ongoing problem raised by car importers has yet to find a solution. Car importer Gagik Hakobyan, speaking with “Jamanak”, addressed this “age-old” and unregulated issue, stating: “As soon as the car is opened at the Poti port, parts begin to be taken from it. The car arrived in Georgia, everything is fine, whatever happens to the car happens there. I have photos showing that the car in Japan looks normal, everything is in order, but when I go to pick it up in Poti, I have to check whether the parts have been tampered with or not. Generally, it is the Georgians who take the catalytic converters off the vehicles and sell them, because they are valuable. It's difficult for an American or a Japanese person to take and sell the catalytic converter,” noted the importer, emphasizing that the majority of cars entering Armenia lack catalytic converters and that they are stolen.

It is worth mentioning that the sale of catalytic converters is also widespread in Armenia. There are companies that even remove them from vehicles while simultaneously purchasing them, and their value ranges from 300,000 to 400,000 drams.

For further details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.