Handcuffs forbride in shamwedding swoop

IMMIGRATION officials yesterday swooped to arrest a bride and bridegroom, as well as five of their wedding guests, as they attempted to go through with a suspected sham marriage at Sheffield Town Hall.

Officers from Yorkshire’s specialist Immigration Crime Team interrupted the wedding ceremony at Sheffield Register Office in Pinstone Street as it was about to get under way at 10.30am.

The 29-year-old Pakistani bridegroom and the 35-year-old Slovakian bride were arrested, handcuffed and escorted out of the town hall by police and UK Border Agency officials before being bundled into a waiting police car. Five of the wedding guests were also arrested and taken to a police station for further questioning.

Alisdair Duncan, from the UK Border Agency, who was leading yesterday’s operation, said it sent a warning to others.

“Sham marriages are a breach of immigration rules and can lead to someone getting leave to remain in the country,” he said.

“This area of crime will not be tolerated in the UK. Hopefully the clampdown that we’re doing, with activity such as today, will reduce the risk of other sham marriages taking place. This is just another piece in the jigsaw.”

Yesterday’s arrests follow earlier action by officials to tackle suspected sham marriages in Sheffield, with nine people previously having been arrested and charged following other weddings this summer. Five people arrested in July are due to appear at Sheffield Crown Court next month to face charges of conspiracy to obtain leave to remain in the UK by deception.

The operation was part of planned nationwide action by the UK Border Agency to tackle immigration issues such as illegal working, sham marriages, bogus colleges and organised immigration crime.

Yorkshire’s Immigration Crime Team, which was set up in Leeds in 2008, comprises UK Border Agency enforcement officers and seconded police officers.

Immigration Minister Damian Green said: “Illegal immigration is big business. At home and abroad, we are tackling highly organised crime groups who make their living by trying to exploit the immigration system and breach our border security.

“Some of these hide people in lorries in an attempt to cross our borders illegally; some provide them with fake identity documents; others set up bogus colleges or arrange sham marriages.

“Worst of all – some force women and children to work against their will in the sex industry.”

It is thought that those organising sham marriages can charge between 9,000 and 12,000 to arrange the wedding.

Steve Lamb, operations director for the UK Border Agency in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, appealed to anyone with suspicions about marriages to get in touch, particularly those involved in conducting ceremonies.

“We will not tolerate immigration abuse and our immigration crime teams are cracking down on sham marriages all over the country,” he said.

“Our main aim is to identify the organisers who profit from and fuel the demand for sham marriages, and destroy their criminal business.

“The UK Border Agency is working closely with registrars to identify marriages that may not be genuine. We do not expect vicars or registrars to be experts in immigration law or spotting forged documents – that’s our job.

“But if they have any suspicions about whether a relationship is genuine, we would urge them to get in touch with us.”