Preying
A SUSPECTED loan shark gets a rude awakening as police raid his home on one of the most deprived housing estates in the land.
The swoop is part of a Christmas crackdown on illegal money lenders hitting struggling families with extortionate interest rates.
The 51-year-old man is still in bed when officers burst in and arrest him. He is allowed to get dressed before he is led away in handcuffs.
The Sunday People witnessed the dramatic scenes as West Midlands Police and investigators from the Illegal Money Lending Team raided the property last Tuesday.
More than 310,000 households are believed to be using backstreet lenders in an industry worth at least £700million a year. And it is feared more struggling families will turn to them over the festive period.
Deprived
It follows warnings the Universal Credit system will leave hundreds of thousands in debt and force people, many disabled, to borrow from sharks and payday loan firms.
An hour after the 7am raid on Coventry’s Wood End estate, a police dog trained to sniff out cash arrived. The suspect’s mobile was bagged as evidence but they were also looking for log books, credit agreements and anything else that could link him to crime. Cash, four mobiles and a laptop were taken.
Three years ago, Wood End was named the most deprived area in the West Midlands and the eighth most deprived in England. The arrest followed a two- year probe and a man was released pending inquiries.
The swoop coincided with a social media drive on how to avoid loan sharks in the run-up to Christmas.
Many sharks are violent criminals who intimidate and threaten victims. They take passports, driving licences and bank cards and PINS to get their cash. Tony Quigley, head of the Illegal Money Lending Team, said:
“This time of year is especially profitable as they prey on people trying to cope with Christmas. We’ve seen charges from assault and it can go even as far as rape.
“But the simpler cases are where people are ripped off. We see APR
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