A press statement issued by Russia's Counter-Terrorism Operations Center in the North Caucasus on November 4 alleged that the Russian Federal Forces arrested a citizen of Georgia in Chechnya, who is a suspected mercenary in one of the Chechen rebel groups. RIA Novosti news agency reports quoting the press statement that the Georgian citizen was arrested in January, but Russian law enforcers could identify him only recently. "He is a citizen of Georgia, a resident of a Jokolo village [in the Pankisi gorge in eastern Georgia]. According to the existing data, he has been a member of illegal armed group since 2002," the statement reads. "Along with him, another member of the group was also detained — a resident of the Urus-Martan district of Chechnya. Both bandits are members of a gang operating on the territory of the Urus-Martan region," the statement reads.