A campaign has been launched in Thu Duc city and districts in the southern largest economic hub to peel off illegal leaflets posted on walls and poles along local streets. (Photo: VNA)

HCM City – Police in Ho Chi Minh City have taken various measures to combat loan sharks, and their efforts have paid off.

A campaign has been launched in Thu Duc city and districts in the southern largest economic hub to peel off illegal leaflets posted on walls and poles along local streets, which contain advertisements for quick loans with low interest rates, ensnaring locals in never-ending debt traps.

The drive has received warm response from all-level Party Committees, authorities, youth unions, women’s unions, war veterans’ associations, and local residents.

People and businesses have also been encouraged to commit not to joining the illegal advertisement.

Thanks to such joint efforts, police in many localities in HCM City have tracked down many loan sharking rings, notably the one in Tan Binh district which imposed an annual interest rate of up to nearly 700 per cent.

Most recently, the district’s police on May 22 detained two men who confessed that they charged a monthly interest rate of 120 per cent, and some 50 people have been trapped.

HCM City’s Steering Committee 138 on crime prevention and control said local police will continue tracing loan sharks, and handle them strictly in line with regulations.