GEORGE TOWN: Police busted an ah long, or loan shark syndicate, which also committed crimes across states, after arresting four men in a series of raids in Penang, Kedah and Perak on Thursday.
Penang Police chief Datuk Hamzah Amhad said that based on investigations, the syndicate is suspected to have been involved in committing mischief by splashing paint and arson at several premises in the state.
“The Penang Criminal Investigation Department (CID) launched a major operation against the syndicate believed to have carried out illegal money-lending activities before arresting four men, aged 23 to 28, at several locations in Perak, Kedah and Penang.
“The syndicate is believed to have conducted illegal money-lending activities and online money-lending, in addition to being involved in mischief by splashing paint and arson,” his statement read.
Police also seized several crucial case items, he said, including a set of business registers from the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) in the name of a company suspected of engaging in unlicensed money-lending activities, chequebooks and notebooks with borrower names, four mobile phones, and a car.
Hamzah said during preliminary investigations, the four men confessed to being involved in 27 paint-splashing and arson cases in Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Melaka.
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. — Bernama
