IN ONE fell swoop, police yesterday busted a loanshark syndicate so big that it had $500,000 in circulation every month.

About 40 police officers raided 15 flats and offices across Singapore, including a few in housing estates such as Bedok, Hougang and Jurong, in a nine-hour operation which started at midnight.

The simultaneous blitz caught the suspects by surprise, and none of them put up any struggle, police said in a media conference yesterday.

More than $200,000 in cash were seized, and 17 people, aged between 32 and 60 years old, were arrested. Among them were three women, who were wives of the suspects. All are Singaporeans except for one Thai woman who is a permanent resident.

Eight laptops and computers, two fax machines and 29 handphones were also seized, along with thumbdrives, bank books, and ATM cards.

It is believed that the loansharks gave weekly loans at a flat interest rate of 20 per cent to more than 500 people. These debtors had loans ranging from $500 to $2,000, and were to repay in weekly instalments.

Police said that the syndicate had been operating for about two years, and was active in the eastern side of Singapore.

The operation came after two months of intelligence work.

Suspects at every level of the syndicate were caught, from the "towkay" ? a 48-year-old director of a logistics company - to the runners, police said.

Most of them had previous criminal records, and some had been involved in similar activities before.

Assistant Director of the specialised crime division Deputy Assistant Commissioner Wong Choong Mann reassured the public that the illegal money- lending activities are "very much under control".

If found guilty, the suspects could be fined up to $200,000 and jailed up to two years, or both for first-time offenders.

Repeat offenders could face a fine up to $200,000 and a jail term of up to five years.

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