The UK’s largest ever credit card fraud gang has been dismantled in London. The fraudsters, who could have netted an estimated £17m, received jail sentences from a judge who called their offences “very serious. A total of five people, all from Eastern Europe, were involved in the scam.

Gang leader Roman Zykin, an illegal immigrant from Russia, was jailed for five and a half years and recommended for deportation at the end of serving his sentence. Two Polish men were also jailed for three and four years respectively, while Estonian “link man” Hannes Pajasalu will serve two years. At a previous hearing Zykin’s wife, Malgorzata, received a six month sentence. The investigation into the gang’s activities lasted for 18 months and spanned several continents, as the FBI, Europol, Estonian police and other authorities and banking bodies, aided UK police in the task of bringing the five to justice. The search for the five culprits was hampered by the gang using sophisticated encryption techniques to hide their electronic traces. Interestingly, the investigation was triggered by a routine stop and search of Roman Zykin by an anti-terrorist patrol at Victoria Station in London, when dozens of mobile phone top-up cards were found in his possession.

The authorities believe the group, which was highly organized and skilled, had access to tens of thousands of stolen credit card numbers, which were held on their state-of-the-art computer systems. According to the police, these numbers were mainly sourced from the US, where hackers stole them in a major attack on a database. Prosecutors have so far tracked some £150,000 in criminal transactions but expect the losses to be much higher, as these fraudsters could afford a lavish life in Britain and abroad, staying in £900,000 mansions and going on five-star holidays abroad. However, for the next few years these cybercriminals will have to holiday in jail.