Loan sharks held over arson threats

Phone, paint, petrol and thinner seized in raids from gang of five

MUAR: Even shoes are not spared by this group of loan sharks.

They burned a pile of shoes found in front of someone’s house as a warning to settle the dues.

A note was left there, asking for payment or the entire house would be torched later.

Sources say that it was the house owner’s son, who works in Singapore, who had borrowed the money.

The father, worried about the safety of his family, immediately lodged a police report.

Police managed to arrest the gang of five during a series of raids in Kulai in the past few days.

Items including red paint, mobile phones, locks, petrol and thinner were seized from the suspects, who have since been remanded.

One of them who is in his 30s has a criminal record.

Investigations showed that the suspects, who used Singapore-registered mobile phones, are believed to have been involved in more than a dozen cases not just in Johor but also the Klang Valley and Negri Sembilan.

In an unrelated case, a 35-yearold medical officer was duped of more than RM84,812 in a scam.

Johor Baru (South) OCPD Asst Comm Shahurinain Jais said the scammers had called her and informed her about finding a parcel heading to Shanghai, China, that contained her ATM cards that had been used in money laundering activities.

This case was one of the six police reports received regarding phone scam activities since March involving losses of about RM550,000.

“The syndicate also managed to dupe five other women aged between 34 and 59,” ACP Shahurinain said.

He noted that the modus operandi was similar with the culprits pretending to be courier service personnel, telling their target about parcels that had been detained by the authorities.