Police crackdown on loan sharks: six people arrested

Six people have been arrested in a crackdown on loan sharks.

Five women aged 27, 46, 63, 65 and 68 and one man, aged 68 are being questioned in custody on suspicion of illegal money lending and money laundering offences.

The England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) worked with Merton town hall, Wandsworth Regulatory Services and the Met to execute warrants at six residential addresses in Mitcham and Wandsworth on October 22.

Officers seized large quantities of cash, documentation and electronic devices during the searches.

Tony Quigley, head of the illegal money lending team, said: “Loan sharks are notorious for targeting people when they are at their most desperate – exploiting and profiting from their situation and threatening and intimidating victims.

We will continue to work with our partner agencies to ensure loan sharks operating in London are identified and their unscrupulous activities stopped.”