MELAKA: A syndicate involved in processing bank debit cards has been busted with the arrest of a Singaporean man at a condominium in Tengkera.

Melaka police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the 42-year-old suspect was detained during a raid at 1.15pm on April 23, where police seized 227 Laos-based Joint Development Bank Visa debit cards along with various equipment used to produce cloned debit cards, including a laser cutting machine, a heat gun blower and a debit card scanning machine.

He said preliminary investigations found that all the debit cards were printed with the names of Japanese citizens and were believed to be intended for sale in the Japanese market.

“Preliminary findings showed that the suspect had been renting the condominium since January and had used the premises as a facility to process the cloned debit cards.

“The suspect is believed to have received supplies of Joint Development Bank debit cards from a certain party via courier service, before copying the data from the original cards and transferring it onto blank cloned cards using a laser machine,” he told a press conference here yesterday, Bernama reported.

The printed cloned cards would have a chip and magnetic strip attached, then upgraded to ­premium or platinum status, before being tested with a scanner and terminal machine for functionality.

Deputy Comm Dzulkhairi said that after processing, the cards were sent to new owners via ­courier, and the suspect received S$3,800 (RM13,000) a month.

The case is being investigated under Sections 420 and 424A of the Penal Code, as well as Regulation 39B of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for violating pass conditions.

The suspect has been remanded for five days, and an application for an extension of the remand period will be made to facilitate further investigation.