KUANTAN: The police force is intensifying its fight against loan shark syndicates in the state capital, following the recent arrests of seven syndicate members.
State police commercial crime investigation department chief superintendent Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof said following the arrests, the police had identified 10 major loan shark syndicates which had put up posters and banners advertising their services.
“Five raids were conducted in housing areas and commercial centres here recently, including Lorong Alor Akar and Indera Mahkota.
“The workers usually operate between midnight and early morning to paste the banners in public areas and utility poles.
“From investigations, we have identified about 10 syndicates operating here based on the contact numbers displayed on some of the banners.
“The phone numbers will be sent to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to have them cancelled,” he told reporters after an operation led by Kuantan Municipal Council to remove about 900 loan shark advertisement banners in Jalan Seri Kuantan, Jalan Teluk Sisek and Indera Mahkota, here, today.
Wazir said members of the public could alert the authorities by taking pictures of those putting up the banners or informing the police so that immediate action could be taken to bring such activities to an end.
He said the police and the municipal council would continue conducting similar operations regularly to remove the illegal advertisements to prevent the public from falling victim to loan sharks.
Last year, police arrested 34 individuals who were trying to put up illegal loan shark posters, Wazir said.
The advertisements are often spotted on streets signs, lamp posts, bus stops, trees, electric poles and telecommunication boxes, and despite numerous operations conducted to remove them, the syndicates replace them very quickly.
