The AFP is
reporting that the Dutch police has busted a wedding scam involving Dutch
citizens being paid to go to Britain to marry illegal Nigerian immigrants so
they can obtain residency there. The gendarmerie, responsible for border
security said in a statement that it has “detained 16 women and seven
men this week on the suspicion that they travelled to Britain to enter into
fake marriages. They are almost all of Dutch Antillean origin and were
flown to Britain to get married, mainly to Nigerian men and women.”
The catch is that
once married, the Nigerians would get legal residency in Britain and access to
state welfare. In return, the Dutch collaborators would be paid 2500 euros
($3,100) to 3,500 euros. The report further stated that members of the Dutch
Caribbean community were used so they could be used as look-alikes for
Nigerians’ real partners, who would be brought into Britain after the “wedding”
to make the swap complete.
Another Dutch paper, De Telegraaf reported that British law
enforcement officers had made arrests at fake “weddings” with bride and groom
on the verge of exchanging vows.
“We have seen wedding dresses with the price tag still on them
being used by three ‘brides’ in one day, swapping the dress just outside the
church,” the paper quoted an officer only identified as Michel.
Those arrested in the Netherlands also face human trafficking
charges, the statement added.
Although the report stated that it wasn’t onlyNigerians that
were involved in the scam (mainlyNigerian men and women), it is still
embarrassing to hear that our people employ such desperate and illegal measures
to obtain residency in foreign countries.
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