A total of seven people have been given jail terms for their roles in UK spouse visa shams, it has been confirmed.
At the centre of the sham were two Indian men and their false Lithuanian brides who attempted to get married at the Register Office in Wrexham.
In addition to the 'brides and grooms', a UK national and two more Lithuanian men were found to be part of the wedding party and all seven have since admitted to the charge of conspiracy to facilitate a breach of UK immigration laws.
David Offside, of the criminal and financial investigation team at the UK Border Agency, commented on the the case: "The two grooms in this case saw sham marriage as a potential shortcut to a life in the UK, but they have ended up behind bars.
'The brides were prepared to marry people they barely know in exchange for cash and the others involved also stood to gain financially."
Genuine UK spouse visas require more than just a marriage certificate. The relationship itself must be genuine and evidence is required to support this.
The two couples in this case had initially tried to claim that their relationships were genuine, but soon came unstuck when they did not know many personal details about the other person and struggled to communicate in a common language.