GEORGE TOWN: A loan shark syndicate that prowled six states and included arson as a tactic has been busted after police arrested four men in a series of raids.
Penang police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said the suspects aged 23 to 28 were arrested in Penang, Kedah and Perak on Thursday (Oct 17) in a major operation by the state criminal investigation department.
“The syndicate is believed to have conducted illegal money-lending activities, involving loan sharks and online money-lending, in addition to being involved in committing mischief by splashing paint and arson,” he said in a statement on Monday (Oct 21).
Hamzah said that during preliminary investigations, the four men confessed to being involved in 27 cases of paint splashing and arson in six states, namely Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Melaka.
He said police also seized several crucial case items, including a set of business registers of the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) in the name of a company believed to be used to carry out unlicensed money lending activities, chequebooks, notebooks containing a list of names of borrowers, four mobile phones and a car.
He said an inspection of the seized mobile phones found 24 video clips showing criminal acts of splashing paint and arson recorded by the suspects at different locations.
“They have all been remanded and the case is being investigated under Sections 427, 435 and 436 of the Penal Code and Section 29AA of the Moneylenders Act 1951,” he said. – Bernama
