JOHOR BARU: A couple was tasked with posting a dozen letters every day to people around the country.
They weren’t ordinary letters though – the couple, who were on the payroll of a local loan sharking syndicate, were actually sending out threatening letters to those who had defaulted on their payments.
Their activities came to light when a team from the Johor Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) arrested them at a house in Iskandar Puteri, following dozens of police reports nationwide.
Police found a long list of names and addresses, along with envelopes that had yet to be mailed.
It is learnt that their modus operandi was simple – just send out a threatening note along with a copy of the defaulter’s identity card.
The note, written in Malay, served as a final warning for the defaulters to pay up on time and not to blame the loan sharks should “anything happen” later on.
The defaulters were given a telephone number to call and make prompt repayments.
It is learnt that the couple, aged 22 and 36, had been active since last year. Their letters had resulted in many of those who had borrowed from loan sharks to panic and lodge reports in many states.
In another case, police arrested five men and a woman, all believed to be part of a loan shark syndicate, in Setia Tropika recently.
Police seized an array of items including bank cards and mobile phones from the suspects, who had been operating for several months.
All the suspects, aged between 20 and 40, were being investigated under Section 5(2) of the Moneylenders Act.
Johor CCID chief Asst Comm Amran Md Jusin, when contacted, confirmed the arrests.
