A BRIDE and broom have appeared at court accused of taking part in a sham marriage ceremony in Sheffield to get residency in the country.
They were arrested in Sheffield on Monday shortly after getting married at the city's register office.
The bride, Slovakian Barbora Vilckova, aged 35, of Brooks Bank Avenue, Bradford, married Pakistani national Ahmed Subhani, 32, of Chester Avenue
, Luton.
They were arrested along with Pakistani national, Sajid Mehmood, 36, of Cresswell Road, Darnall, Sheffield, Slovakian Gizar Demeter, 35, of Ligate Terrace, Bradford and Slovakian Milan Benak, 38, of Brooks Bank Avenue, Bradford.
The five defendants were remanded in custody by Sheffield magistrates until Wednesday August 4, when they will appear at Sheffield Crown Court to answer a charge of conspiracy to obtain leave to remain in the UK by deception.
They were arrested as part of nationwide operation aimed at tackling illegal working, sham marriages, bogus colleges and organised immigration crime.
The arrests were made by the UK Border Agency Immigration Crime Team, which includes seconded South Yorkshire Police officers.
Jeremy Oppenheim, Regional Director for the UK Border Agency, said: "The UK Border Agency is working closely with registrars to identify marriages that may not be genuine, and where we suspect that may be the case we will investigate.
"We have specialist teams of immigration officers and police working together to investigate cases and ensuring people are not able to benefit from breaking the UK's immigration laws."
Immigration Minister Damian Green said: "Let's be clear. Getting married is not enough to put down roots in the UK. Couples also need to be in a genuine relationship. We will act immediately where we suspect relationships are not what they seem.
"We can – and will – take away the privileges of life in the UK from people who, even if they are able to get married, are later shown to have lied to stay here.
"This summer, the UK Border Agency is leading a crackdown on illegal immigration, not only to remove those who have no right to be here but also targeting the criminal masterminds who exploit often vulnerable and desperate people.
"Some of these are international in scope."
Follow The Star on Twitter and Facebook:For breaking news and sport follow The Star on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/sheffieldstar and on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/sheffieldstar .
JOIN THE STAR READER PANEL:
The Star is YOUR newspaper, so tell us what you think about it and what you want to see - CLICK HERE.
Don't miss our daily pull-outs - only in the The Star: Monday Star Sport, Tuesday Class Act; Wednesday Business; Thursday Grassroots; Friday Time Out; Saturday Retro. Subscribe to The Star - CLICK HEREREAD MOREJoin the Star reader panelMain news indexYour lettersFeaturesSouth Yorkshire's environmental newsKids ZoneMore business newsMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsLatest sport