- Pakistani national Babar Khan, 24, was jailed for 20 months by judge
- The illegal immigrant paid £4,660 for a sham marriage in Southampton
- Staff raised the alarm after he was unable to spell his bride-to-be's name
- Marriage was stopped by police as the pair were about to say their vows
Illegal immigrant Babar Khan was jailed for 20 months after police stopped his sham marriage in Southampton, Hampshire
A sham marriage was uncovered after a registry office worker spotted that the groom was unable to spell his bride-to-be's name, a court heard.
Babar Khan fake big day came crashing down when police dramatically stormed the ceremony as the fake couple prepared to exchange their vows.
The illegal Pakistani national stumped up £4,660 to marry the woman he barely knew in a desperate attempt to remain in Britain at a ceremony in front of just two guests.
Officers quizzed the couple who gave 'wildly conflicting' accounts of how they met, Southampton Crown Court, Hants, heard.
Police then searched Khan's home and discovered 'crib notes' with prepared answers about their history together.
He was released on bail yet the groom made one last frantic bid to evade being sent home by fleeing to London - before the authorities caught him again.
Khan was jailed for for 20 months after he admitted conspiring to breach immigration law and two counts of breaching marriage laws.
Siobhan Linsley, prosecuting, told the court how Khan was initially granted entry to Britain in September 2011 to study a three-year accountancy course in the capital.
But when he failed to attend classes, immigration officers ordered him to apply for an extension or leave by the following June.
Khan, 24, instead decided to pay money to a Mr Atta to arrange a marriage with a Southampton woman.
On their arrival at Southampton Register Office on April 14 this year, staff became concerned, the court heard.
Miss Linsley said: 'He misspelt her name and they had no interest in seeing the room where it would take place and were vague about details.'
The woman, who is not being named, is believed to have received £250 for her part in the deal and police searching her home found no evidence of him ever living there.
Khan, of no fixed address, later escaped to the capital but was eventually re-arrested in September this year working in a factory, the court heard.
In mitigation barrister Jane Rowley stressed Khan was not the main organiser of the scam, adding: 'He bitterly regrets his misguided action.
'His motivations to come here weren't just greed. He wanted to make a constructive life in Britain.'
Jailing Khan for 20 months, recorder Nicolas Gerasimidis, sentencing, said: 'This was a sham marriage and not genuine.
'You made the decision to stay in this country and went awol.
'You were burying your head in the sand to avoid the consequences of your actions.'
Khan will be deported to his home country at the end of his sentence.
The woman denies a charge of conspiracy to breach UK immigration law and is due to stand trial next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment