Five people believed to be part of a loan shark operation preying on thousands of pensioners were nabbed in Durban's Verulam suburb, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Friday.

Superintendent Muzi Mngomezulu said over a thousand items — including identity documents, birth certificates, pension and bank cards — were seized in a raid on Thursday from an office they had allegedly been operating from.

Mngomezulu said five were arrested, while a sixth man — believed to be the kingpin — escaped and was being sought by police.

It was believed that the office was one of four being run in KwaZulu-Natal.

Police were now hunting for the bosses of each office. Mngomezulu said vulnerable and frail pensioners would borrow money from "these loan sharks" who allegedly refused to return their ID documents and other vital documents until the money had been repaid.

Sapa