Sham marriage fixer on run after skipping court appearance

Polish mother-of-four Andzelina Surmaj was sentenced to three years and eight months at Burnley Crown Court in her absence, which she will serve if or when she is arrested.

Her partner in crime, Czech national Milan Cina, 38, was jailed for five years.

The pair, both Roma gipsies, acted as brokers charging illegal immigrants thousands of pounds to arrange bogus weddings to EU nationals so they could stay in the UK.

They had admitted their part in arranging six sham marriages in East Lancashire and Manchester between December 2008 and July 2009, but it is thought they could have been involved in around 40 bogus ceremonies in all.

Surmaj, 30, targeted fellow eastern European women desperate for money she met at the gates of Whetley Primary School in Bradford, where her children were pupils.

Passing sentence, Judge Beverley Lunt said: “It is clear from the evidence in this case, this was a well organised commercial enterprise designed to defeat the immigration laws of this country.

“You were both responsible for arranging multiple sham marriages in return for substantial sums of money, being paid by Nigerian men. Some of that money was then paid on to the Czech women who were persuaded to take part in these sham marriages.”

Surmaj, formerly of Girlington Road, Bradford, admitted assisting unlawful immigration by organising four bogus weddings. She also admitted giving a false address at a sham wedding where she was the bride at St Peter’s Church in Newbold, Rochdale, and possessing a fake Czech Republic ID card.

Cina, of Lister Gardens, Bradford, admitted assisting unlawful immigration by jointly organising the four sham weddings with Surmaj and also pleaded guilty to acting as a witness at another ceremony.