Singapore  - A Ghanian national was jailed for 12 years by a Singapore court for using nearly 100 credit and debit cards and withdrawing 51,610 Singapore dollars (34,530 US dollars) in a card-cloning operation, a newspaper reported Thursday.

Essien Emmanuel, 33, had pleaded guilty to running the operation from his apartment, using information provided through the internet by a Britain-based co-conspirator, the Straits Times said.

Emmanuel was arrested on June 19 with his wife. Police have since recovered 10,840 Singapore dollars from Emmanuel, the report said.

Investigations revealed he was recruited in Ghana in early June and promised a 10-per-cent cut for stealing money from Citibank cash machines.

His wife was repatriated after a stern warning while the accomplice was named as a fellow Ghanian, Charly Nwanne, who is believed to be a member of a syndicate based in Britain, according to the report. (dpa)