A 54-year-old loan shark from Welkom in the Free State will have to cough up R18,000 after he was convicted for contravening the National Credit Act.
If he fails to do so, he could spend close to three years in prison.
Free State police said that Elijah Zacharia Ngcola was convicted in the Welkom Magistrate’s Court on Monday after pleading guilty to 10 counts of contravening the act.
He was arrested in December 2018 following a search and seizure operation at his home in Masilonyana, near Welkom.
It was alleged – and later confirmed – that he was “running an illegal cash loan business” and was confiscating clients’ back cards and identity documents to secure loan repayments.
“The court has imposed a fine of R18,000 or 30 months' imprisonment on Ngcola,” said SAPS spokeswoman Warrant Officer Lynda Steyn.
National Hawks head Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya welcomed the conviction.
“The public is encouraged to resist any arrangements where their bank cards and identity documents are given to their creditors ... as this is against the National Credit Act,” said Lebeya.
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