£6m credit card gang seized in police raid

Police have smashed a gang behind a highly-organised £6million credit card scam. Operating from fried chicken restaurants in north-west London, the fraudsters set up factories to "clone" or reproduce scores of fake credit cards.

The gang, who were all Sri Lankan, used the cards to access 98 different accounts to steal £6.35 million in four months.

In some cases, the swindlers even handed in fake credit cards to banks in order to claim a £50 reward for each lost or stolen card that is returned.

A husband and wife and three other men, who all owned the fast food outlets, were arrested at addresses in Colindale, Wembley and Edgware. They were later bailed. Police seized at least 100 fake cards and were examining how much had been taken from each account.

Some fake cards were disguised as supermarket loyalty cards to avoid detection.

Detective Inspector Bob Gurr, who led the operation, said: "We believe we have disrupted a highlyorganised team of individuals who were deceiving banks of vast quantities of money. We are determined to make life impossible for this type of criminal."

The raid was carried out by officers from the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit, which was set up to combat the multi-million trade in credit card fraud.

The raid came after Scotland Yard launched a new squad to combat rising violence among Sri Lankan Tamil gangs who earn their cash from credit card fraud.

The Tamil Taskforce was set up after three murders in London this year alone.

The violence has been centred on the Sri Lankan communities in Wembley and Ilford.