SINGAPORE: Police have arrested twelve men in a nine-hour operation which ended in the early hours of Thursday morning.

According to the police, the islandwide blitz netted not just syndicate runners but bosses and moneylenders.

The suspects are between 19 and 48 years old. They are believed to be from syndicates which provided loans repayable at a 20 per cent interest rate over six weeks.

Some of the men are believed to have harassed debtors by splashing paint and writing debtors' notes on walls.

Cash amounting to S$8,000, mobile phones, laptops, cans of paint, ATM cards and suspected debtors' records were seized.

The arrests came about after Criminal Investigation Department officers conducted raids at various locations, including Choa Chu Kang, Buangkok Green, Potong Pasir, Hougang, Woodlands, Yishun and Whampoa.

Four suspects will be charged in court on Friday. Investigations against the other eight suspects are still ongoing. - CNA/vm