Melaka police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the 42-year-old suspect was nabbed following a raid on a condominium unit in Tengkera at about 1.15pm on Thursday.

Dzulkhairi said the operation followed several months of surveillance and intelligence work, Berita Harian reported.

Police seized a computer, four handphones, a laser cutting machine, a glue gun, two Bank of Monaco debit cards, 227 Joint Development Bank Laos debit cards, a debit card printer, S$3,378 and RM5,500.

He said the suspect had been renting the condominium unit since January to process the fake debit cards.

“The suspect received a supply of JDB Bank debit cards from a third party via courier before cloning the data from the cards and printing the details on blank debit cards using the laser printer.

“After the cards are printed, the suspect would embed a chip and magnetic stripe onto them and turn them into premium or platinum debit cards,” he said.

Dzulkhairi said the Singaporean also had a card reader and payment terminal which he used to ensure the fake cards worked.

He said the fake cards were found to have been registered under the names of Japanese citizens and that the suspect earned about S$3,800 (about RM12,600) a month.

The Singaporean is being investigated for cheating, unlawful possession of payment instruments and breaching the terms of his immigration pass.