KUALA LUMPUR: A loan shark wanted by police for kidnapping and chaining up three debtors was arrested by Immigration officers as he was attempting to flee the country. The suspect, high on the police wanted list, had been on the run for the past 11 months.

He was identified as being a key member of Kristal 9, an illegal money-lending syndicate. The syndicate was described as being a vicious but an organised lot. They resorted to extreme violence, including kidnapping and chaining up debtors who could not repay their loans.

On the suspect's arrest, a source said the 22-year-old was nabbed over the weekend as he attempted to drive into Singapore in a Proton Wira.

"Thinking that police were no longer looking for him, the suspect came out of hiding and decided to flee to Singapore for a while.

"However, Immigration officers immediately nabbed him when his photograph appeared on the police's wanted list while they were checking his passport," the source said.

The suspect was sent to the Johor police headquarters where he was detained until police from Selangor came and took him away.

Last May, there was extensive media coverage on the case of three debtors who were abducted and chained up like animals in a vacant shop lot in Serdang.

Several syndicate members were arrested and detained, but police launched a hunt for the suspect who was believed to have masterminded the cruel act.

The suspect was taken to the magistrate's court in Gombak on Tuesday where police obtained a four-day remand order to facilitate investigations for wrongful confinement and extortion.

The Kristal 9 syndicate had been operating since 2006 and were not only involved in loan shark activities but also kidnappings, car-jackings, extortions and assaults.

Investigations showed that the gang raked in at least RM50,000 (S$21,065) daily in interest alone or an average of RM1.5 million a month. Police also found scores of files on borrowers with their ATM cards attached.