Thirteen people have been arrested in the Northern Cape for contravening the National Credit Act, the National Credit Regulator (NCR) said on Tuesday.

The arrests were part of an investigation by the regulator and police into money lenders’ abuse of consumers.

Eleven criminal cases were opened on Wednesday after a three-day operation. Two of the 13 people arrested were released.

The suspects were found in possession of 5453 pension cards, 130 ID books, and 1720 bank cards, the NCR said in a statement.

“The focus of this kind of operation is primarily on credit providers who are unlawfully garnishing, retaining pension cards, bank cards, identity documents and personal identification numbers of their clients as surety,” NCR CEO Nomsa Motshegare said.

“This is a contravention of the National Credit Act and it is a criminal offence.”

The investigations took place in Upington, Keimos, Kakamas and Groblershoop.

Motshegare said exploiting vulnerable and unsuspecting consumers would not be tolerated and other operations would take place around the country.
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