A cross-border police operation involving authorities in Macau and mainland China has seen 46 people arrested for loan-sharking.
According to details provided by Macau’s Judiciary Police (PJ) to local media this week, the loan-sharking gang had issued loans totalling HK$4.2 million (US$540,000) since January 2021 with victims regularly detained against their will and tortured.
Members of the gang are alleged to have targeted victims in Macau’s casinos by looking for players who wanted to borrow money and charging both 10% immediate interest on those borrowings plus 20% of any winnings.
If unable to repay their debt, victims would be taken to one of five apartments where they would be locked up, beaten and in some cases made to drink sewerage. Loans ranged from HK$80,000 to HK$300,000 (US$10,000 to US$37,500) the PJ said.
Authorities discovered the gang after arresting 16 people last year for usury. An investigation was launched in cooperation with mainland authorities which led to the arrest of 40 suspects across 11 regions in China on 26 December 2021.
Another six were arrested in Macau including two men who were about to return to mainland China via the Border Gate. The PJ said all six, who have refused to cooperate with police, are facing charges of usury, money laundering and organized crime.
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