Police carry out operation against loan sharks after man loses friends' money in online betting, flees RS and family receives threats

Police carry out operation against loan sharks after man loses money from friends in betting in RS The Civil Police launched an operation against a loan sharking and extortion scheme in the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre. The action, which mobilized 50 civil police officers, served two arrest warrants and 11 search and seizure warrants. The investigation, conducted by the 3rd Canoas Police Station, began after a man lost money in online gambling, turned to criminals and fled the state, leaving his family the target of threats. ? Access the g1 RS channel on WhatsApp One of those investigated was arrested in the Santa Rosa de Lima neighborhood, in the North Zone of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul. The suspect was detained at home and taken to the regional police station in Canoas. The second arrest warrant was served at another address in the Metropolitan Region. The case began to be investigated based on a police report registered by the debtor's family. According to police, the man raised money with a group of friends to make commemorative t-shirts. However, he used the amount on an online betting platform and lost all the money. Desperate, the man turned to at least 14 loan sharks to try to replace the amount. The target of death threats and extortion attempts, he fled Rio Grande do Sul for another state. "The victim entered into an uncontrollable cascade effect. With each new loan to cover the previous one, the total value and the level of threats increased", says delegate Luciane Bertoletti. After escaping, the loan sharks began to threaten the man's family. The targets were now the victim's mother, sister and brother-in-law. During the investigation, the police obtained authorization from the Court and intercepted audios sent by messaging applications, which show the form of intimidation used by the group. "I don't know. I just know that, if he doesn't pay, it's going to get dirty for him, understand? Tell him to call me and come and resolve his debt. Otherwise, tomorrow, we'll be there and we'll do what we have to do. It was good. Who do they think they took money from? From a bank? Seriously. They think they're taking money from a worker", says one of the criminals in a recording. In another audio message, the threats to relatives continue: “We are going to call you and your mother, to see that the mess is not a joke, you are taking the mess as a joke.” Family members, out of fear, even made several payments in an attempt to stop the threats. In addition to the audios, investigators obtained images sent by the loan sharks to intimidate the victims. In one of the videos, which shows debt collection from a relative of another debtor, a criminal approaches a woman at the gate of her house. He holds the victim's head and hits it several times against the iron fence to demand payment. Police carry out operation against loan sharks after man loses money from friends on bets in RS Reproduction/RBS TV VIDEOS: Everything about RS