Four men accused of credit card fraud were charged yesterday at the First District Court in Castries, following investigations.
This was confirmed with Police Press Officer Aniel Innocent. Innocent told St. Lucia News Online (SNO) that she will not be able to say what the exact charge is.
The police press officer also said the names of these individuals will not be disclosed at this time.
Innocent said the matter is still being investigated, which makes it impossible for the police to provide the names of the four men and other details in the case.
SNO understands that at least three other persons are assisting police with investigations.
Among the persons charged is a 40-year-old man from the United Kingdom. UK police had arrested him in September 2014 with help from St. Lucian Customs officers for having equipment used for stealing people’s card details from cash machines.
The man was nabbed shortly after arriving in St. Lucia from Gatwick Airport, according to a report in the Newham Recorder newspaper.
St. Lucian customs officers discovered an ATM skimmer, a device that fits over the card entry slot of a cash machine and steals customer card information, in the man’s luggage. They also found a laptop containing card skimming software. The devices were passed on to officers in the UK who investigate such crimes.
Eventually, he was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud the UK banking industry as he was about to board another flight to St Lucia from Gatwick Airport.
The Recorder reported that a search of the man’s home “revealed a package containing approximately 100 pre-pay gift cards. These cards, which have a magnetic strip on the back, are commonly used by fraudsters to create counterfeit bank cards using stolen data.
Officers also found a piece of paper with timings and suspected PINs – thought to be the output from an ATM camera bar where skimming had taken place, according to The Recorder.
He received a 17-month suspended sentence at the Old Bailey on September 22. He was also told to do 100 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £1,000.
DCI Perry Stokes, head of the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit, was quoted by The Recorder as saying: “This fraudster was discovered with all the equipment needed to steal card details and cash from unknown individuals. Thanks to the hard work of our officers, working alongside police in St. Lucia, we were able to prevent British bank customers from becoming fraud victims.”