A man who tried to sell his sister into a sham marriage was among four people who today admitted their part in a scam to help Chinese immigrants to stay in the United Kingdom illegally.
Michael Wright, 22, of Osprey Close in Swindon was arrested by officers from the UK Border Agency's South East Region Immigration Crime Team as he arrived for the 'ceremony' at Reading Register Office with would-be groom Ligang Qiao, 29, on 20 August 2009.
Li Fan, 33, and her boyfriend Bing Liu, 30, were arrested at their home address on Erleigh Road in Reading on the same day.
The arrests were part of a joint operation led by Thames Valley Police officers seconded to the UK Border Agency.
Wright had plotted with the other three to allow Qiao to marry his sister, who has learning difficulties, in exchange for £8,000 to aid Qiao's application to stay in the United Kingdom once his visa ran out. Wright had previously married Li Fan in another sham wedding in April 2008, for which he had been paid £4,000.
Today, Wright pleaded guilty to two counts of assisting unlawful entry into the United Kingdom, and two counts of perjury during a hearing at Reading Crown Court.
Qiao, who lived at Mill Lane, in Reading admitted two counts of perjury.
Li Fan also admitted two counts of perjury, and obtaining leave to remain in the United Kingdom by deception, while Bing Liu pleaded guilty to attempting to assist illegal immigration into the United Kingdom.
They are due to be sentenced on 22 December 2009.
Assistant Director Rob Allen from the UK Border Agency said:
'We have successfully stopped an organised criminal network, who deliberately sought to undermine the UK's immigration system. They also sought to make considerable gain for themselves by exploiting other vulnerable people, in Michael Wright's case, his own sister.
'We will not tolerate immigration abuse and we will punish those who break our immigration laws. If we identify marriages that do not appear to be genuine, we will challenge them and remove any foreign national in the country illegally.
'The UK Border Agency now has teams of police officers working side by side with immigration staff to investigate exactly this type of offence.'
All allegations regarding any type of sham marriage, including marriage for cash, bigamy and marriage to relatives are investigated and where evidence can be obtained, appropriate action taken.
The UK Border Agency has made it more difficult than ever for people to abuse the immigration system and have introduced heavy penalties for abuse of the marriage route.
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Source: UK Border Agency