A 61-YEAR-OLD man suspected of being the "kingpin" behind a loan shark syndicate fleecing pensioners walked free after the prosecutor ordered the police to formulate new charges
He was supposed to appear in the Pinetown magistrate's court on Tuesday but was released after the prosecutor consulted colleagues in the NPA and the case was not even on the court roll.
The other suspects, including three women, were caught with a stack of pensioners' ID books and mastercards they had kept as "security".
They were arrested at a pension paypoint in eMpumalanga township, west of Durban.
Police arrested the suspects after a raid conducted in the presence of KwaZulu-Natal MEC for social development Meshack Radebe on Monday.
It is alleged that pensioners had been lured to take loans and then charged exorbitant interest when repaying their loans.
The suspects, who operate all over the province, were also caught in possession of a dossier with dates and times when payouts take place.
Police spokesperson Colonel Jay Naicker said the prosecutor was not convinced by the charges and asked the police to formulate new charges.
The police had earlier charged the man with reckless credit providing.
"The case was neither withdrawn nor struck off the roll," Naicker said.
"It was not put on the court's roll. The man was released by the court.
"But the police are busy with investigations as requested by the prosecutor. And we have set up a meeting with the National Credit Regulatory Board."
Naicker said the man would soon be brought back to court to face other charges.
Some pensioners who had borrowed R600 from the loan sharks were forced to pay back about R1040 with interest.
Loan sharks were charging 100 percent interest, leaving some pensioners with only R20 a month.
Loan shark 'kingpin' freed
A 61-YEAR-OLD man suspected of being the "kingpin" behind a loan shark syndicate fleecing pensioners walked free after the prosecutor ordered the police to formulate new charges
He was supposed to appear in the Pinetown magistrate's court on Tuesday but was released after the prosecutor consulted colleagues in the NPA and the case was not even on the court roll.
The other suspects, including three women, were caught with a stack of pensioners' ID books and mastercards they had kept as "security".
They were arrested at a pension paypoint in eMpumalanga township, west of Durban.
Police arrested the suspects after a raid conducted in the presence of KwaZulu-Natal MEC for social development Meshack Radebe on Monday.
It is alleged that pensioners had been lured to take loans and then charged exorbitant interest when repaying their loans.
The suspects, who operate all over the province, were also caught in possession of a dossier with dates and times when payouts take place.
Police spokesperson Colonel Jay Naicker said the prosecutor was not convinced by the charges and asked the police to formulate new charges.
The police had earlier charged the man with reckless credit providing.
"The case was neither withdrawn nor struck off the roll," Naicker said.
"It was not put on the court's roll. The man was released by the court.
"But the police are busy with investigations as requested by the prosecutor. And we have set up a meeting with the National Credit Regulatory Board."
Naicker said the man would soon be brought back to court to face other charges.
Some pensioners who had borrowed R600 from the loan sharks were forced to pay back about R1040 with interest.
Loan sharks were charging 100 percent interest, leaving some pensioners with only R20 a month.
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