Thieves in Japan steal £8.9m from cash machines in just three hours

The forged credit cards used in the fraud belonged to a South African bank

All these fraudulent transactions took place between 5am and 8am on May 15 (PA)

In a co-ordinated operation, a criminal network stole 1.4bn Yen (£8.9m) from cash machines across Japan in a three hour period.

Authorities believe over 100 thieves used forged credit cards from South Africa to steal money from 1,400 convenience store ATMs, The Guardian reported.

In each of the 14,000 withdrawals, the maximum amount of 100,000 Yen (£631) was taken in Tokyo and 16 other Japanese prefectures.

Japanese police, through Interpol, have asked South African authorities how the 1,600 credit cards were obtained.

The name of the South African bank where the cards originated from has not been named.

Police say the geographical distance between the bank an the targeted ATMs allows for a delay before the scam is discovered.

According to the Japanese newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, the fraudulent withdrawals took place between 5am (JST) and 8am on May 15.