A 20 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of being a loan shark in Washington.
The England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) worked in partnership with officers from Northumbria Police to execute a warrant at an address in Washington on tuesday morning.
An electronic device was seized and the suspect – a 20-year-old man – was taken into custody to be questioned by IMLT investigators.
Dave Benbow, acting head of the IMLT, said: “We work hard with our partners to take action against illegal lenders who blight our communities and make life a misery for the most vulnerable. We would urge anyone who thinks they have been targeted by an illegal lender, or has knowledge of illegal lending activity going on, to contact us in confidence.”
There are up to 1.08 million people in debt to loan sharks in England, according to figures from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).