Rotherham Sham Marriage Scandal

18 January 2013, 11:10 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A dad-of-five who ran a massive international sham marriage operation from his family home in Rotherham will be sentenced.

42 year old Immigrant Talib Hussain, flew Eastern European women to Islamabad for bogus weddings with Pakistani men, who could then apply to live in the UK under European open borders laws.

Helped by his ex-wife, Rahina Zaman, he ran the “huge, well-organised, professional operation'' from his suburban semi in Rotherham.

60 applications were sent to the government for UK visas, they had fake documents and photos of the bogus weddings. But the UK Border Agency became suspicious when they noticed the same people, wearing the same clothes in many of the photos.

The couple and seven others appeared at Sheffield Crown Court and will be sentenced for immigration offences. Nine others who were connected to the conspiracy are also due to be sentenced at a separate hearing.

Sarah Wright, prosecuting, said by marrying women from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Britain, the Asian menwould have been eligible to move to Europe, and wanted to live in the UK.

Both Hussain and Zaman pleaded guilty to breaching UK immigration law shortly before they were due to go on trial.