Man from Târgu Jiu held on suspicion of loan sharking, extortion and human trafficking
A 39-year-old man has been remanded in custody following police raids in Gorj county. He is suspected of lending money at exorbitant interest rates, coercing a debtor through threats, trafficking a woman to Switzerland and defrauding a property co-owner.
Man from Târgu Jiu held on suspicion of loan sharking, extortion and human trafficking
A large-scale operation by law enforcement in Gorj county has concluded with the detention of a 39-year-old suspect from Târgu Jiu. The searches targeted several homes in the city and in Runcu commune, and the investigation concerns serious offences including loan sharking, coercion by force, sexual exploitation and real estate fraud. Details of the case were reported by the publication Jurnalul.ro.
The investigation began with the activities of two individuals, aged 38 and 39 respectively, who over a period of nearly two years are believed to have granted loans at exorbitant interest rates to people from the area. A specific incident occurred in the spring of 2023, when the 39-year-old man is alleged to have threatened a 36-year-old debtor, forcing him to pay a monthly sum of 1,000 euros, representing interest on a credit of 9,000 euros taken out previously.
Besides loan sharking activities, the same suspect is being investigated for allegedly earning nearly a quarter of a million lei from the prostitution of a 31-year-old woman, also from Gorj. The woman is believed to have engaged in commercial sexual activities in Zurich, with the profits reaching the man through international money transfers, disguised through intermediary individuals.
Another charge concerns real estate fraud. Between autumn 2024 and spring 2025, the suspect is alleged to have deceived a 35-year-old woman, a co-owner of an apartment in Târgu Jiu, about the status of mortgage payments and about a purported transfer of the property to a commercial company. In fact, the property is believed to have remained under his control and, through two accomplices (aged 40 and 36), was subsequently sold for 95,000 euros. The victim is believed to have suffered damages of 47,500 euros.
Authorities held the main suspect for one day before taking him before judges at Târgu Jiu District Court. The court issued a remand in custody warrant for 30 days. The two accomplices involved in the real estate fraud were placed under judicial supervision for a period of 60 days. The investigation of the offences continues.
Source: Jurnalul.ro