Kuala Lumpur, Dec. 21: With 300 credit cards, she went on a RM 1.5 million spending spree.

But the former bank officers shopping holiday came to an abrupt end in Sri Lanka.

The woman, a former track star, was thrown in a police lock-up in Colombo on Dec. 6 for alleged involvement in an international forged credit card ring. Three men were also detained.

The four are also being investigated for possible links to a passport forgery ring as the Malaysian woman was travelling on a Singapore passport.

More than 300 credit cards were seized when the suspects were nabbed at a hotel in Colombo. The cards had credit limits ranging between RM 6,000 and RM 12,000. Security consultants with card companies say the quartet blew almost RM 1.5 million before they were arrested.

As most of the cards were issued overseas, financial institutions will only know when bills reach the legitimate cardholders,`D3 a consultant said.

Checks revealed the woman was dismissed from her job early this year because she was absent from work for almost a month.

However, it was not immediately known if her bank employers had lodged a missing persons report.

It was then, the consultant said, that she and the three men turned up in Sri Lanka They really lived it up, wining and dining at the most expensive venues, making extravagant purchases.

For small change, they used forged cards to withdraw cash from automated teller machines. Soon after, they began shutting between India and Sri Lanka but their extravagant shopping continued.

From cellular phones, handicraft and handbags, they moved to gemstones, expensive watches and jewellery.

We believe they were accompanied by syndicate members who took the purchased goods and later sold them to unsuspecting buyers at lower prices.

These same members may have replenished their stock of credit cards when they reached the limit.`D3 The four returned to Sri Lanka after a holiday-cum-shopping spree in India last September.

Sri Lankan authorities had been trying to determine their nationalities when it was discovered that Singapore passports had been reported stolen.