The Georgian law enforcement agencies have detained a man suspected of “plotting the act of terrorism” in case, which is not related to an attempted car bomb targeting a local employee of the Israeli embassy in Tbilisi, a Georgian Interior Ministry official said.

“Officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia detained Bezhan Shakaia for plotting the act of terrorism. The mentioned person entered Georgia from the territory of Abkhazia, currently under Russian occupation and military control,” the ministry said in a brief statement on its website.

Shota Utiashvili, head of the Interior Ministry’s information and analytical department, told Civil.ge, that the suspect was arrested in western Georgian town of Zugdidi, close to the administrative border with breakaway Abkhazia on February 14.

He said that the target of the foiled terrorist act was a market in Zugdidi. He also said that this case had nothing to do with the one related to Israeli embassy staffer, who found an explosive device attached to his car on February 13.

Utiashvili said that the foiled terrorist act in Zugdidi was similar to those previous attempts masterminded by a Russian military intelligence officers based in Georgia's breakaway regions. 

Last summer the Georgian Interior Ministry said that it had foiled two terrorist attempts with one of them allegedly plotted by a Russian security officer based in Abkhazia and another one by Russian officer stationed in South Ossetia.

In late 2010 Georgia said a Russian military officer based in breakaway Abkhazia was behind series of terrorist acts in Tbilisi in autumn, 2010.