Fifteen men and five women have been arrested on suspicion of loan sharking and illegal debt collection, police said on Sunday.

The force said that during an operation, officers seized HK$300,000 in cash, bank cards, phones, computers and debt collection notes, as well as cars and watches suspected to be the proceeds of crime.

Officers said more than a million dollars was loaned to nine people in Sau Mau Ping in recent months, and a group threatened and harassed those who failed to repay the money on time.

“Our intelligence indicated that the syndicate used various illegal debt collecting methods, including splashing red paint to debtors’ flats, damaging the door locks and criminal intimidation to force the debtors to repay their loans,” said Inspector Leung Ho-ching.

Police added that they have identified a bank account linked to the case that was allegedly used to launder at least HK$5.8 million.