Dutch police arrest Nigerians involved in wedding scam

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.