Floods have made Tewkesbury and Gloucester loan shark hotspots
Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 08:00
Desperate families, struggling with the double blow of last year's floods and the credit crunch, are turning to unlicensed money lenders to make ends meet.
The areas have been identified as hotspots by a task force set up by the Government.
The group, set up in March, has already arrested two men on suspicion of illegal money lending.
A man from Tewkesbury is on bail pending further enquiries.
And a Gloucester man in his late 40s, arrested after a joint operation with police, has been charged with illegal money lending and drug-related offences, totalling more than £60,00. He will appear in court this month.
But Alan Evans, who leads the task force, believes these are just the tip of the iceberg and says flood victims are at risk of being pulled into a life of crime by the money lenders.
He said: "In some cases, where people have had their homes ruined by floodwater and have no insurance, it may seem impossible to go on.
"They can feel so desperate they may turn to illegal lenders.
"There are more people committing this crime in Gloucestershire and there are more investigations ongoing. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of people illegally lending money in Gloucestershire at the moment."
The 10-strong team, staffed by specialist Trading Standards officers, works on tipoffs, police intelligence and its own research.
It has started 16 investigations into loan sharks across the South West.
Alan said: "It's truly remarkable the things we have come across so far.
"The lenders may seem nice at first, but if people fail to make the payments things can turn very ugly.
"They will send people round to break property and injure borrowers, but perhaps even more seriously, they are forcing people to deal drugs, or into prostitution to pay off debts.
"Many of these operators have turned out to be involved in other very shady operations including people trafficking.
"We also refer borrowers to people like the CAB who can offer real, long-lasting help.
"The thing to remember is that these people are illegal money lenders. By law, that means, you don't have to pay them back. They operate through fear and are ruthlessly efficient in that, but if people call us we can remove these people from where they live and operate."
To contact the team 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, call: 0300 1234 247
