Crackdown on loan sharks

Specialist teams across the country have been set up in order to crack down on illegal money lenders.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has launched the initiative to discourage people from turning to loan sharks for a debt solution in the wake of the current economic crisis.

London’s team has already caught three people. A 26-year-old Dagenham male has been accused of lending £71,000 to 23 people at an interest rate of 100 per cent.

A 71-year-old man from Hackney and a 47-year-old from Enfield have also been charged with money lending offences.

Consumer affairs minister Gareth Thomas remarked: “This team is working around the clock to ensure that the credit crunch doesn’t drive Londoners into the murky world of illegal money lenders.”

Meanwhile, a suspected loan shark’s house in Wharton was raided by police last week – they found a stun gun and drugs thought to be amphetamines at the property, reported the Winsford Guardian.

By Jamie Price