Two Bulgarian nationals were detained in the biggest city of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, for ATM fraud, the internet site allafrica.com reports.

Local police say the two perpetrators stole over USD 53 000 in illegal ATM transactions.

Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander Suleiman Kova announced the Bulgarians were arrested Saturday in a sting operation by his officers, after mounting complaints by bank account holders that they were losing their savings in unauthorised ATM withdrawals.

"The suspects fell for our trap and were arrested while scouring an ATM in the city, where we had stationed a detective posing as a cleaner. On inspection, they were found with a special device that they had used to discreetly record people's Personal Identification Numbers (PIN)," Kova said, adding the operation was a major breakthrough in the fight against criminals targeting countries like Tanzania, which have inferior technological expertise.

The two are to stand trial at a local court upon completion of the investigation.

The arrest comes at time when international organisations and diplomatic missions have been circulating reports to staff and visitors, warning them against using ATM cards while in Tanzania, the allafrica site reports.

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