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AT LEAST one sham marriage a day is taking place in Scotland in a bid to get round immigrations laws, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.
Already this year, registry officials across Scotland have recorded 22 cases of fake marriages taking place, usually involving Scots women who marry immigrants for money. Officials believe the real figure, including those who get away with it, is at least five times higher.
The number of cases is growing. In the whole of 2006, 52 sham marriages were exposed and 49 in 2005.
Last week, five people were detained in raids both sides of the Border aimed at cracking down on bogus marriages.
One police officer, a recognised expert on international crime, told Scotland on Sunday how the gangs behind the scam provide applicants with a list of possible questions they might be asked by the Immigration Service trying to catch out the fraudsters.
He said: "The figure of 22 so far this year in Scotland is a very low one. From my experience, I would say only about one-fifth of fake marriages are actually detected.
"The registrars are getting better and better at detecting the fraudsters, but in response, the organised crime gangs behind the scam are also improving."
The source added: "The marriages are set up by organised gangs. Whether they be West African or from the Indian sub-continent, the approach is the same.
"They are looking for the right type of girl. Someone vulnerable or short of money who is happy to go through with the deception.
"They may be single parents or even drug addicts - the connecting factor is that they will be short of money."
The source said the woman would initially be paid around £2,000 to go through with the ceremony, which was always paid in cash.
After a year the couple are usually called for interview by the Immigration Service, where they have to prove that the official ceremony took place and that they are still together. The officer said: "The applicants will be asked a variety of questions such as: 'What sort of aftershave does your husband use?' or 'Where does your wife's family originate from?'
"Over the years, the people behind these scams have gone to great lengths to beat the system. Each time one of the applicants is quizzed, they will be quizzed later about what questions they were asked by the officials, so the next time, that person will be even better briefed."
The most recent raids took place early on Friday morning in the Cambuslang and Paisley areas of Strathclyde.
A 26-year-old woman was detained along with two men, aged 27 and 22.
Simultaneously, officers swooped on properties in Thornton Heath, London and Reading, Berkshire, arresting two men aged 33 and 35. According to investigators, the operation, codenamed Warren, had been a long- running and complex probe.
It was jointly headed by the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) as well as the Strathclyde, Thames Valley and Metropolitan Police forces.
Phil Taylor, the BIA's regional director for Scotland and Ireland, said: "We believe that this is one of the biggest fraudulent marriage scams against immigration controls that has been conducted for some years.
"The investigation we have conducted is on a major scale. The registrars would identify cases which they believed to be sham and we would deal with these cases.
"We do not know why it is a problem in this area but it is not unusual for immigration crime to be specific to some nationalities."
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