GEORGE TOWN: Police have busted three unlicensed – and violent – moneylending syndicates including one led by a man with the Datuk Seri title in a series of raids that saw the arrest of 20 people.
Penang police chief Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said all the suspects, aged between 21 and 59, were detained during raids mounted by the state Commercial CID from 6am to 5pm on July 7 after carrying out intelligence work since last month.
“The first group involved 15 people, led by a 59-year-old man with the title of Datuk Seri, who is also a businessman. They are believed to be members of Gang 24, the biggest triad in Penang involved in gambling, drugs, prostitution and extortion.
“The group offered loans to the public, charging them an interest rate of 30%-50% a month. If borrowers failed to repay their debts, members of the group would threaten and harm them,” he told a press conference today.
He said this loan shark group had firearms and sharp weapons allegedly to extort, hurt and intimidate borrowers, who included factory managers, businessmen and traders.
Shuhaily said the group was believed to have a turnover of RM500,000 per month through its illegal moneylending activities.
He said the second loan shark group consisted of four people, led by a 25-year-old man.
The third moneylender, a 36-year-old man whom police arrested during the raids, was believed to be working alone.
“Following the arrest of the 20 men, police seized 11 luxury vehicles including a Toyota Vellfire, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Honda, 36 mobile phones, 64 bank cards, 22 sets of business cards, cash totalling RM24,520, nine watches and seven pieces of jewellery,” he said.
He said the three loan shark syndicates were believed to have been involved in illegal moneylending activities over the past several years.
All the suspects were remanded to assist in the investigation under Section 5 (2) of the Moneylenders Act 1951. - FMT
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