(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles police has reported that two Russian nationals were arrested yesterday evening and remain in custody after a certain number of empty credit cards and card cloning devices were found in their luggage.

The two men said to be in their mid-20s were arrested at the Seychelles International airport upon their arrival into the country.

“Their arrest came after a search on them by an NDEA [National Drugs Enforcement Authorities] agent led to the discovery of some 70 empty credit cards and also card cloning devices in their luggage,” reads a police statement issued this afternoon.

The pair appeared before the Court this afternoon and were remanded until September 15.

This comes almost two weeks after three Bulgarians were arrested as suspects in bank ATM skimming incidents, which targeted at least 4 ATM bank machines of the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) and Seychelles Commercial Bank (SCB).

This forced the respective banks in Seychelles to block over eight hundred ATM cards and issue new ones with new passwords to their clients, although no client funds were extracted during that the skimming attempts

The three Bulgarians, two women and one man have also been remanded until Friday September 4.

The Seychelles police, Central Bank of Seychelles and Seychelles bankers association are already on the alert to tackle financial crimes such ATM card skimming.

Contacted by SNA, the Assistant Commissioner for Policing, Reginald Elizabeth, said that the Seychelles police is also collaborating with regional partners as well as Interpol to target such fraudulent activities.

Meanwhile, following the two latest incidents people in Seychelles are being called upon to alert the police or other local authorities if they come across any suspicious activities at any ATM machines.