KOCHI: Four Sri Lankan refugees were arrested on Thursday by Palluruthy police on charge of swindling crores of money through ATMs using fake ATM cards and a swiping machine.

The arrested have been identified as Suresh, 31, Sendhooran, 31, Shivasuthan, 31, and Anandaraj,31, who are refugees stationed at Trichy, Tamil Nadu. The police have seized 372 fake ATM cards, a laptop, a card reader, a swiping machine used to withdraw money and a Hyundai Santro car along with `14 lakh in cash.

According to the police officials, the arrest was made in the wee hours of Thursday morning. “We found the culprits when they stepped out of an SBI ATM opposite to Bhavaneeshwara Temple at Palluruthy after the operation. Since the police found them in suspicious circumstances, they were taken into custody. During questioning, it was learnt that they were robbers who have connection with international mafia. The police suspect that the accused persons have link with an European gang working in hotels and shops in London and Germany,” the officials said. City police commissioner K G James told ‘Express’ that the four have been residing in Trichy as refugees since 1996. “The friends of the accused persons swipe the customer’s card on the machine to charge them for purchases. After that, they swipe the duplicate card which can read the entire details of the original card holder. After imprinting the details on forged ATM cards, they withdraw money using some software. We are also on the process of extending the investigation to find if more persons are involved. After preliminary proceedings, if the need arises we will involve other agencies for investigation,” he said.

Police also added that the accused persons have obtained only 20 per cent of the money as commission and the remaining has been distributed to other persons involved in the network.

They arrived here through Kambam and reportedly stayed in Alappuzha and carried out similar operations. The team also stayed in a hotel in the city and were allegedly involved in theft across ATMs. The accused persons have been produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate and have been remanded for 14 days. (New Indian Express)