A ROMANIAN national who came to the UK to find work has been jailed for trying to use a cloned credit card at a Suffolk building society.

Jane Hunt

A ROMANIAN national who came to the UK to find work has been jailed for trying to use a cloned credit card at a Suffolk building society.

Staff at a Nationwide branch in Bury St Edmunds became suspicious when they noticed two men, including 27-year-old Constantin Ablonczi, acting suspiciously at a cash machine, Ipswich Crown Court heard yesterday.

As staff approached the men they walked off, leaving behind a blank silver card the size of a credit card, in the machine, said Godfried Duah, prosecuting.

The police were called and CCTV footage of the area around the machine was studied, said Mr Duah.

Two hours later a CCTV operator spotted Ablonczi in Bury town centre and he was arrested.

Officers found two further blank credit type cards with similar magnetic strips on the back in his possession as well as £120 cash.

Ablonczi, of no fixed address, admitted being in possession of an article for use in fraud and possession of criminal property.

He was jailed for six months and had the £120 found on him confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Mark Thompson, for Ablonczi, said he had come to the UK in search of work in the construction industry. He had been unable to find work and was then approached by two men who promised to help him find work if he helped them with something.

Ablonczi had come to Bury with the men and at some stage had become aware of what they were doing at the cash machine and had not walked away, he said.