THE HAGUE Police in the Netherlands busted a wedding scam involving Dutch citizens being paid to go to Britain to marry illegal Nigerian immigrants so they can obtain residency there, prosecutors said on Friday.
The gendarmerie, responsible for border security, "detained 16 women and seven men this week on the suspicion that they traveled to Britain to enter into fake marriages," it said in a statement.
"They are almost all of Dutch Antillean origin and were flown to Britain to get married", mainly to Nigerian men and women, it added.
Once married, the Nigerians would get legal residency in Britain and access to state welfare. In return, the Dutch collaborators would be paid 2500 euros ($3,100) to 3,500 euros.
Members of the Dutch Caribbean community were used so they could be used as look-alike for Nigerians' real partners, who would be brought into Britain after the "wedding" to make the swap complete, prosecution service spokesman Wim de Bruin said.
Called Operation Dutch Conclusion, the two-year investigation involved Dutch and British law and border security agencies and continental policing agency Europol.
Some 81 people have been arrested over the last two years, De Bruin said, mainly in Britain, of whom 66 have already been sentenced to between a few months and six years on human trafficking charges.
Those arrested in the Netherlands also face human trafficking charges, the statement added.
The gendarmerie, responsible for border security, "detained 16 women and seven men this week on the suspicion that they traveled to Britain to enter into fake marriages," it said in a statement.
"They are almost all of Dutch Antillean origin and were flown to Britain to get married", mainly to Nigerian men and women, it added.
Once married, the Nigerians would get legal residency in Britain and access to state welfare. In return, the Dutch collaborators would be paid 2500 euros ($3,100) to 3,500 euros.
Members of the Dutch Caribbean community were used so they could be used as look-alike for Nigerians' real partners, who would be brought into Britain after the "wedding" to make the swap complete, prosecution service spokesman Wim de Bruin said.
Called Operation Dutch Conclusion, the two-year investigation involved Dutch and British law and border security agencies and continental policing agency Europol.
Some 81 people have been arrested over the last two years, De Bruin said, mainly in Britain, of whom 66 have already been sentenced to between a few months and six years on human trafficking charges.
Those arrested in the Netherlands also face human trafficking charges, the statement added.
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