Woman forced into sham marriage

A heavily pregnant woman was tricked by a gang into travelling to the UK on the pretense she would meet her sister.

The woman thought she was meeting her sister in Luton. When she arrived at the airport a man told the pregnant lady he was a friend of her sisters. The 25 year old man was paid between £10,000 and £15,000 to arrange a sham marriage with the woman.

In total thirteen people have been arrested, including 10 men and 3 women, aged between 24-57 after the woman was subsequently sold into a sham marriage.

Greater Manchester Police detained the suspects and arrested them for exploiting an innocent woman as well as breaching immigration laws. Three of the suspects have been arrested for being overstayers in the UK.

Detective Inspector James Faulkner said: "This is a superb result following a long and complex investigation by GMP officers and our partner organisations. This woman was brought to Manchester with the sole purpose of being married to a man who hoped to boost his immigration status. She was completely unaware of this group's nefarious motives and by the time she realised what was going on, it was too late."

Inspector Faulkner told Guardian readers there have been up to 400 trafficking cases involving sham marriages in the Manchester area.

If you need to talk to an understanding lawyer, whatever your situation, contact our Cheetham Hill Solicitors today on 0161 795 4818 or email us via info@hsksolicitors.co.uk.

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