The tools of trade of an alleged credit card counterfeiter have been revealed by Queenstown police.
The gear and hundreds of false credit, identity and loyalty cards were seized during the execution of a search warrant in the resort on Wednesday.
A 26-year-old Italian national was arrested, and will appear in the Queenstown District Court today on a forgery charge.
Acting Detective Sergeant Matt Jones said the gear included a magnetic card strip reader, zebra card printer, embosser and metal tipper.
Fake credit cards were found in various states of completion, while three desktop computers and a tablet PC had been sent to a police electronic crime laboratory for forensic analysis, he said.
More charges were likely once the analysis was completed.
Police had acted on a tip-off from someone who had become ''a bit suspicious'' after receiving an order for a piece of equipment from the man.
Acting Det Sgt Jones said it was the largest card scam operation he had seen.
Small card-skimming devices had turned up in the resort before, but this equipment covered the ''whole manufacturing process from start to finish''.
All the gear had legitimate uses, such as making swipe cards for employees.
The arrested man was a working visa holder who had lived in the resort for nearly two years.
He appeared to have been ''living well for an unemployed man''.
Police were unsure how long he had allegedly been engaged in the activity, or whether others were involved.
They were contacting credit card companies and banks as part of their investigation, with particular interest in whether the cards had been used overseas as well as locally.
They are interested in hearing from anyone in the Queenstown area who has been a victim of credit card scamming.
