JOHOR BARU, April 8 — The police said today they managed to bust a notorious loan shark syndicate, known for using violence, with the arrest of seven suspects during a series of raids here recently.
Johor police chief Commissioner M. Kumar said the illegal money lending syndicate’s suspects were apprehended during a large-scale operation from March 28 until last Sunday.
“The police arrested six men and a local woman, between the ages of 29 and 46, during the raids.
“Those arrested were allegedly employed by the syndicate’s leaders to make criminal threats, including using arson, against the victims who failed to meet their loan payments,” he told reporters at the Johor police contingent headquarters here.
He said the operation involved 15 officers from the state police contingent and Johor Baru South district’s Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) anti-vice, gambling and secret societies division (D7).
Based on the raids, Kumar said police seized seven mobile phones, RM2,300 in cash, a laptop, two Touch ‘n Go cards along with a Smart Tag device and three plastic packets containing red paint.
“Apart from that, the raiding team also confiscated a Perodua Myvi car, a Proton Saga car and various types of stationery from the suspects,” he said, adding that the syndicate members were active since January this year.
Kumar said initial investigations found that the syndicate members received a payment of RM600 each for splashing paint and RM1,000 for committing arson on the property of those who failed to make their loan payments.
He added that the syndicate’s modus operandi was made through advertising various financial loan solutions and offers on Facebook to deceive would-be borrowers.
“Money will then be deposited into the borrower’s account by the syndicate after providing details of the account number, work permit and residential address, despite the loan agreement not being signed yet.
“The syndicate will force borrowers to make payments by charging high-interest rates between 20 per cent to 50 per cent of the loan amount given,” he said.
Kumar said the syndicate’s targets were Malaysians working in Singapore where all entry transactions and loan repayments were made using bank accounts registered overseas.
He said with the arrest of seven suspects, investigators believed that they had successfully solved 29 cases.
Kumar added that all seven suspects had also tested positive for methamphetamine abuse.
The case will be investigated under Sections 436, 435, 247 and 507 of the Penal Code as well as Section 15(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
