On July 26, 2018, investigators from the Financial Police arrived in the Svaneti villages of Khaishi and Chuberi to examine possible cases of large-scale illegal logging. According to the agency, locals blocked the road and prevented the investigators from carrying out their work.

Residents of Khaishi and Chuberi linked the investigation to the construction of hydropower plants in the Mestia municipality, which had been halted earlier due to public protests. Locals claimed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs was using the investigation as a means of intimidation and punishment. They emphasized that logging was their only source of income.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that locals blocked the road, damaged an investigation vehicle with stones and sticks, and endangered the safety of officers, which prompted the deployment of special police units to the area.

Because of the obstruction and safety concerns, the Interior Ministry sent riot police to Khaishi and Chuberi, escalating tensions and leading to confrontations between officers and residents.

“Please, I beg you, disperse—no one will be punished. If there is any illegal timber, it will be removed. No one will be arrested,” said Nikoloz Diasamidze, head of the Samegrelo–Upper Svaneti police department, addressing the gathered residents in Khaishi’s center. He tried to calm the situation and reopen the blocked road.

Locals responded, “If it’s just about illegal timber, why do they need 200 armed special forces officers?” They demanded that the police and special units leave the area. On July 27, residents reopened the road after government representatives agreed to withdraw the special forces.

Some locals opposed reopening the road, but others insisted it should be cleared because of the upcoming religious holiday Kvirikoba, celebrated on July 28. “Tomorrow is Kvirikoba—we can’t keep the road closed because everyone needs to go to the church,” one protester said.

Government advisor on regional development, Sozar Subari, participated in several hours of negotiations with the locals. He promised that within ten days, a government team—including the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Levan Davitashvili—would visit Svaneti to meet with residents.

Meanwhile, a solidarity protest titled “Solidarity with Svaneti: No to Violent Hydro Mania” was held in Tbilisi on July 27, though only a small group of people attended.

On August 31, during a meeting between the Governor of Samegrelo–Upper Svaneti, Aleksandre Motserelia, and Khaishi residents, an agreement was reached. Locals would be allowed to transport timber already cut in the forest until January 1, using existing permits from the Forestry Agency. Starting January 1, a new forest inventory would begin, along with updated regulations designed not to harm local interests.