Four Latvian men were today each jailed for three years after admitting to using counterfeit credit cards.

The Magistrates' Court heard how the four, Matriss Cicis, 21, Vjaceslavs Stegmans, 34, Edgards Kervis, 20 and Eriks Zakis, 20, used the false credit cards at the Dragonara and Hilton casinos. They also used them to buy plane tickets.

A fifth man Toms Strelcs, 22, pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody.

The total money involved was under €2,000.

A total of 14 cards were used. Three of the Latvians had come to Malta from the UK and two from Paris.

Police Inspector Ian Abdilla told the court that the police were informed on Sunday that three of the Latvians were suspected of using counterfeit credit cards at the Portomaso casino.

The police checked hotels in the area and the five were arrested at St George's Park Hotel, where they were staying in the same room.

He said that one of the false cards was also used at BurgerKing in Paceville.

He said the men had drawn money from accounts in Barclays Bank USA, Capital One, and Mastercard.

He said the five had been told by persons in the UK to come to Malta to buy electronic items and resell them in the UK, keeping a profit of 10%. They were, however, arrested soon after they arrived in Malta.