Six Nigerian men and one Cambodian national were sentenced on theft charges to one year in jail yesterday, after which the foreigners will be expelled from Cambodia and banned from entering the country for five years.

The seven men - several of whom are professional footballers - were arrested in May and August last year for allegedly stealing credit card information after the Cambodian police received a tip from Australian authorities.

A report by the Australian Federal Police’s cyber crimes unit read out in court last month claimed that goods worth about A$36,000 (US$27,400) were sent from Australia to the home of Ueng Vannak, the Cambodian national implicated in the case.

They were allegedly purchased using stolen or lost credit cards and then sold in Cambodia for a profit.