A four-man Nigerian gang member has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for forging over 2,000 marriage documents, allowing people to live unlawfully in the United Kingdom.
According to the Evening Standard, Abraham Alade Olarotimi Onifade, 41, Abayomi Aderinsoye Shodipo, 38, Nosimot Mojisola Gbadamosi, 31, and Adekunle Kabir, 54, fraudulently applied for the EU Settlement Scheme for Nigerian nationals between March 2019 and May of last year, according to the Home Office.
The organised crime organization submitted false Nigerian Customary Marriage Certificates and other bogus papers to support the nationals’ bids to remain in the country.
More than 2,000 bogus marriage paperwork were discovered during a Home Office inquiry conducted both locally and internationally, with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.
According to the Home Office, Onifade and Shodipo were convicted guilty of conspiracy to enable illegal entry into the UK and conspiracy to furnish articles used in fraud following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court.
Gbadamosi was convicted of gaining leave to remain by deception and fraud by false representation, but Kabir was found guilty of possessing an identity paper with wrong intent but not of acquiring right to remain by deception.
On Tuesday, Onifade of Gravesend was sentenced to six years in prison, while Shodipo of Manchester was sentenced to five years.
Gbadamosi from Bolton was sentenced to 18 months in prison, while Kabir from London received a nine-month sentence.
Home Office chief immigration officer Paul Moran said: “This group was absolutely prolific in their desire to abuse our borders and have rightly been brought to justice.
“As with many gangs we encounter, their sole priority was financial gain. I am delighted that my team was able to intercept their operation, and I hope these convictions will serve as a warning to unscrupulous gangs who exploit people’s desperation to remain in the UK.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to secure our borders and clamp down on the gangs who prey on vulnerable people to make money.”
