BritanniAmerica

A Nigerian man has been jailed for 14 months after admitting he entered into a sham marriage in a bid to undermine the UK's immigration laws.

Henry Ohachu, 28, pleaded guilty today at Chelmsford Crown Court to a charge of facilitating a breach of immigration controls.

Ohachu, who had overstayed his visa, was arrested by officers from the UK Border Agency's immigration crime team east on 5 May at his home address in Thornbeach Road, Lewisham, London.

Earlier that day Ohachu had married a Dutch woman in St Andrew's Church in Catford. In the police interview he admitted that he had paid £2,000 to a third party to arrange the marriage, hoping that it would help his application to remain in the UK.

Ohachu said that he had paid for the woman to fly into Stansted Airport on at least four occasions so that arrangements for the wedding could be made.

Sam Bullimore, UK Border Agency assistant director, said:

'The sentence handed down today shows how seriously we, and the courts, take these kinds of attempts to undermine our immigration laws.

'We will not tolerate immigration abuse and, as this conviction demonstrates, our immigration crime teams are creating a hostile environment for those who break the immigration laws. We know that sham marriages are not just about getting a ticket to the UK; often the offenders are also involved in other forms of criminality. If we uncover marriages that are not genuine, we will challenge them and prosecute where appropriate. Our prime aim is to seek to identify those who are often the organisers of such marriages, and destroy their criminal business.

'People should be under no illusion that marriage is enough to get permission to stay in the UK. Couples must also prove to the UK Border Agency that they have been in a genuine relationship for at least two years.'

Any foreign criminal sentenced to more than 12 months in prison for any offence is automatically considered for deportation.

Anyone who suspects someone of committing immigration related crime should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where anonymity can be assured.

Thanks for the article, Becca.

It's sham marriages that give us a bad name. But, it's also people like us that educate others about how much spouses DO have to go through.

Was talking with one of my resident's daughters last week, and was telling her about everything that we have to go through to be with the ones we love, and she was astonished.

"I thought you could just come over if you were married to a British citizen!" she said.

I explained the whole process. She was fascinated, and said "I wish everyone knew this..."

Olumuyiwa Otti, 40, pleaded guilty at Coventry Crown Court to a charge of providing a false statement to obtain a marriage certificate and seeking to obtain leave to remain in the UK by deception.

Otti, an illegal entrant to the UK, was arrested by officers from the UK Border Agency's immigration crime team on 7 January 2010 when he reported to a UK Border Agency office in Solihull. He was remanded into custody.

Officers were acting on intelligence that Otti had given a false address to the registrar of St John the Divine Church, Willenhall, Coventry before marrying a French woman at the church on 14 September 2009.

When questioned by UK Border Agency officers the French woman admitted taking part in a sham marriage and that Otti had paid her £3,000 to do so.

Sam Bullimore, UK Border Agency assistant director, said:

'The sentence handed down today shows how seriously we, and the courts, take these kinds of attempts to undermine our immigration laws. We will not tolerate immigration abuse and, as this conviction demonstrates, our immigration crime teams are creating a hostile environment for those who break the immigration laws.

'Sham marriages are not just about getting a ticket to the UK. Offenders are also involved in other forms of criminality. If we uncover marriages that are not genuine, we will challenge them and prosecute where appropriate. Our main aim is to identify those who are the organisers of sham marriages and destroy their criminal business.

'People should be under no illusion that marriage alone is enough to get permission to stay in the UK. Couples must also prove to the UK Border Agency that they have been in a genuine relationship for at least two years.'

I wonder if the UKBA punishes the women involved, since it doesn't mention any penalties for them. I would think participating in a false marriage, let alone accepting money to do so, would be frowned upon.

I wonder if the UKBA punishes the women involved, since it doesn't mention any penalties for them. I would think participating in a false marriage, let alone accepting money to do so, would be frowned upon.

Solano had pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to breach the UK's immigration laws and perjury at an earlier hearing on June 10. She was sentenced to 12 months.