a friend said she knew people in the community who could help with a loan. how much money are we talking about? £50. i borrowed £50. and i was supposed to pay it back £10 a week. and on one of the weeks, i didn t pay it back in time, theyjust add another £10 onto it. so the billjust kept getting bigger and bigger. at first, jane says, she had no idea the money came from loyalist pa ramilitaries. clergyman, brian anderson, runs services to help people like jane, in loyalist communities including those on benefits. people are struggling to make ends meet. i would notice particularly that the benefits that would ve lasted a fortnight, is now only lasting
i had no um close relatives, no support. a couple of close friends. uh, i was struggling. i didn t think there was any, as long as i paid the money back every week, there would be no hassle. a single mum on benefits, jane found even basic necessities hard to afford. a friend said she knew people in the community who could help with a loan. how much money are we talking about? fifty pound. i borrowed fifty pound. and i was supposed to pay it back ten pound a week. and on one of the weeks, i didn t pay it back in time, theyjust add another ten pound onto it. so the billjust kept getting bigger and bigger. at first, jane says,
didn t want to help. yeah. but the clear message from this case study is that people in that community didn t think that was an option. no, and that s part of the difficulty because you had someone there who was willing to go down that route, but then was directed towards an alternative route of resolution, which in the long run doesn t solve the problem. and i suppose i m not sitting in judgment on the individual. after months of living in fear, jane was finally able to escape her debt by selling family possessions. there s people being exploited. gonna cost more than money to fix this. it s costing people their lives, their homelife, their livelihood, everything. it s huge. hardship gives loan sharks an opening. fear is what lets them thrive.
in northern ireland s most impoverished housing estates, loan sharks or unlicenced money lenders are viewed by some as providing a service instant cash without the paperwork. ah, don t you worry, all right. i will sort you out. i will get it to you next week promise. as the cost of living crisis deepens, community workers warn more families are now turning to paramilitary loan sharks. we ve spoken to one woman still living in a loyalist estate, who we are calling jane. she was a victim of paramilitary money lenders. she agreed to speak to us anonymously. she is fearful for her safety. her words are spoken by an actor.
we are trying to progress investigations. we have four other prosecutions that have been reported to the pps. um, and, um, infact, recently we ve undertaken a proactive operation in, um, the mid and east antrim area, uh, including newtownabbey as well. according to jane, vulnerable women in her community are getting sucked into criminality in the run up to christmas because they are being forced to pay off loans using their own prescription drugs as well as cash. they re paying with their medication. as a part payment? it s almost like, well you ve got a bit of an asset and we want it. prescription drugs, like sleeping tablets or anxiety medication? yeah. handing over prescription drugs, albeit to people who are demanding money, er or there ll be consequences, it is a criminal offence. yeah, it s a criminal offence, but yeah, they are desperate.