135 Arrested Island-Wide In Crackdown On Loansharking Activities #sgpolicearrest During the island-wide anti-loansharking operation which took place from 11 to 14 November 2014, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and the six Police land divisions conducted simultaneous raids at multiple locations in Singapore resulting in the arrest of a total of 135 suspects, aged between 17 and 75, for suspected involvement in loansharking activities. Preliminary investigations revealed that six suspects were believed to be involved in loansharking activities as runners who had assisted the loansharks in their businesses by carrying out Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transfers or procuring ATM cards for the loansharks’ usage. Another 13 suspects were believed to be harassers who had carried out acts of loanshark-harassment by splashing paint and scrawling loanshark-related graffiti on walls. Police have also arrested two suspects who were believed to have provided false contact information when obtaining loans from loansharks. Investigations under the National Registration Act will be carried out against these two suspects for failing to report the change of address. The remaining 114 suspects were believed to have opened bank accounts and given away their ATM cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to the loansharks to facilitate their loansharking activities. Investigations against all the suspects are ongoing. Police will continue to take tough enforcement action against those involved in the loansharking business, regardless of their roles, so that they will face the full brunt of the law. This would include taking action against those who open or give away their bank account/s to aid unlicensed moneylenders. Members of public are advised to stay away from loansharks and not to work with or assist the loansharks in any way. The public can call the Police at ‘999’ or the X-Ah Long hotline at 1800 924 5664 if they suspect or know of anyone who could be involved in illegal loansharking activities.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 07:08:53 +0000
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