The police smashed an illegal money-lending syndicate, arresting 60 people in a raid on a luxury apartment here, local media reported today.

The suspects, aged between 19 and 43, were caught with cheques amounting to RM7.4 million, credit cards, RM135,500 in cash, passports, car registration cards, handphones and jewellery believed to be taken from borrowers as collateral, the New Straits Times said.

"We believe this is the largest illegal money-lending operation uncovered," Kuala Lumpur police chief Mustafa Abdullah was quoted as saying.

Police have been mounting operations since last year against 'loan sharks,' known as 'ah longs' in Malaysia, a police spokesman told AFP .

Charging exorbitant interest rates, 'loan sharks' frequently threaten and harass their victims, beat them up, paint graffiti on personal property and threaten them with weapons including firearms, he said.

Some have also been known to take naked photos of borrowers and their family members to blackmail them, he said. - AFP