A total of 15 persons have been arrested in Cyprus, Latvia and Portugal in a case concerning sham marriage ceremonies that were being held in Cyprus.
A press release by the Cyprus Police says that four of those arrested allegedly orchestrated more than 130 sham marriages in Cyprus, with the aim of facilitating the illegal stay of third-country nationals in EU countries.
Furthermore, the Police says that the 13 persons arrested in Cyprus were brought before the Larnaca District Court, which issued a detention order against them until February 7, while procedures for extradition to Cyprus have begun for the other two arrested.
It also says that the dismantling of the network took place in the context of an operation, code-named “Operational Task Force Limassol”, organized by Europol, led by Cyprus, and supported by Latvia, Portugal and Eurojust.
It appears that in addition to sham marriages, the ring was also involved in other illegal activities, such as money laundering, conspiracy to commit a felony, con
spiracy to commit extortion, aiding illegal entry, transit and stay in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, participation in an illegal organisation, participation in and acceptance of crime money, forgery, forged documents, fraudulent performance of marriage and coercion of victims to perform sham marriages, with the aim of facilitating the illegal stay of third-country nationals in European Union countries.
The arranged marriages were conducted in Cyprus, between women from Portugal and Latvia and men from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Thirteen people were arrested in Cyprus, while one person was arrested in Latvia and one in Portugal. Four of those arrested are the main suspects in the case, two were arrested in Cyprus and two abroad following European Arrest Warrants issued by Cyprus.
Source: Cyprus News Agency