Sham marriage that got lost in translation

The agency said five people were jailed by a judge at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday after they were arrested as part of Operation Relinquish – a crackdown on people suspected of orchestrating and taking part in sham marriages.

They were detained after a "wedding" at Sheffield Town Hall on July 26 last year between a 33-year-old Pakistani man and his 35-year-old Slovakian "bride".

Undercover officers looked on as the couple struggled through the ceremony without a common language.

An agency spokesman said: "The couple, who relied on an interpreter at their wedding to exchange vows and understand the registrar, were unaware of the presence of officers from the UK Border agency's immigration crime team."

The wedding party was followed to a garage near the Meadowhall shopping centre, on the outskirts of Sheffield, where they were arrested. Officers found a sham marriage "price list" in their vehicle with items totalling 10,695.

The list was translated and the breakdown included: 4,500 "girl"; 1,900 "P60"; 2,100 "Home Office" (thought to be administrative payments); 600 "wedding permission"; 200 "wedding hall expenses", and 250 "wedding photos outside garage".

As part of the investigation, officers were able to identify a second couple linked to the gang and they arrested the "bride" but her Pakistani "husband" absconded.

The agency said the five defendants in court were part of a series of 27 arrests in the Yorkshire region during the summer linked to attempts to gain UK citizenship through deception.

The five people jailed yesterday included gang leader Sajid Mehmood, a 36-year-old Pakistani national from Sheffield, who was jailed for 15 months after admitting two counts of conspiracy to obtain leave to enter or remain in the UK by deception and one count of signing a false certificate to procure marriage.

Gizar Demeter, 36, a Slovakian from Bradford, who was jailed for 12 months for one count of conspiracy to obtain leave to enter or remain in the UK by deception and Milan Benak, 39, another Slovakian national from Bradford, was also jailed for 12 months for the same offence.

The bridegroom from the July 26 wedding, Subhani Ahmed, 33, a Pakistani national from Luton, was jailed for 15 months for conspiracy to obtain leave to enter or remain in the UK by deception and one count of signing a false certificate to procure marriage.

The second "bride", Kornelie Ferkova, 26, a Czech national, was jailed for seven months for one count of conspiracy to obtain leave to enter or remain in the UK by deception. All five entered guilty pleas earlier this year.

The agency said the "bride" arrested on July 26 failed to appear in court earlier this month and a warrant has been issued for her arrest.

Jeremy Oppenheim, regional director for the UKBA said: "This operation successfully shows how our specialist team are playing a crucial role in not just identifying those involved in sham marriages but, importantly, those who are profiteering from them."