SIX men caught taking part in sham marriages at Scottish registration offices are being forced out of the country by immigration officials.
UK Border Agency officials swooped on services taking place at offices in Glasgow, Annan and Greenock this week after receiving information on the bogus nuptials.
They detained three grooms – a Nigerian and two Pakistani men – as well as three others who were attending the ceremonies as guests on suspicion of immigration offences before the weddings took place.
Another guest at one of the weddings was served with notice of potential liability, which could result in a fine of up to £10,000, for illegally employing the would-be groom at Manzil Indian takeaway in Port Glasgow.
Adam Scarcliffe, from UKBA, said: "Anyone in the UK illegally and seeking to evade our immigration laws should take heed of this latest operation, and expect to be found by us and removed from the UK.
"We will not hesitate to act against those who mistakenly believe that they can abuse the immigration system."
The first detention was made on Monday at Park Circus registration office in Glasgow, where a 32-year-old Nigerian man was attempting to marry a 31-year-old Slovakian.
At Greenock registration office on Thursday, a 23-year-old Pakistani man was arrested before he could marry a 25-year-old Czech woman who lives in Glasgow. All the women involved were allowed to go free.
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