35 arrests in marriage of convenience scam led from Madrid

35 arrests in marriage of convenience scam led from Madrid
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By m.p. - Nov 26, 2009 - 12:31 PM
The network arranged marriages with Spaniards to allow Nigerian immigrants to remain in Spain legally

EFE archive

35 people have been arrested in a number of provinces in connection with a network uncovered by National Police which arranged marriages of convenience to allow immigrants from Nigeria to obtain papers to remain in the country legally. The Spanish partner in the marriage was paid 3,000 €, while their partners paid a sum of 10,000 € to the organisers of their wedding.

Europa Press reports that fraudulent marriages were detected in Mallorca, Sevilla, Huesca, Cádiz, Valladolid and Huelva.

Police began their investigation on Mallorca at the beginning of May, after noting that were an increasing number of weddings involving Nigerian and Spanish partners taking place on the island. Their investigations led them to Fuenlabrada in Madrid, where the two leaders of the network, named by Europa Press as Eddie and Raúl, were based. They are understood to have found the Spanish partners in the marriages amongst the gypsy community in Alcalá de Henares and Torrejón de Ardoz.

The 35 arrests then took place in Madrid, Torrejón, Alcalá, Fuenlabrada, Bilbao, Valencia, Alicante, Pamplona and Salamanca.

Officers discovered another side to the network’s operations in the fraudulent on-line purchase of railway and air tickets using cloned credit cards.

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