NICOSIA, Cyprus: European police arrested 15 members of an illegal EU migration ring in Cyprus that arranged marriages of convenience between Portuguese and Latvian women and Indian and Pakistani men, said Europol.
According to the European police agency, two of the main ringleaders were arrested in Latvia and Portugal and 13 suspects were arrested in Cyprus.
The European police agency said in a statement that the criminal network “facilitated illegal migration into the EU via sham marriages.” The organisers “enabled the non-EU nationals to obtain residence permits from third countries, which they then used to travel to other European countries,” Europol said further.
Europol said the ring allegedly recruited Portuguese and Latvian nationals and facilitated their journeys to Cyprus, where the women entered into arranged marriages with third-country nationals.
“The suspects, mainly Indian, Pakistani and Portuguese citizens, arranged all the logistics, including the flight tickets, the acquisition of passports and other required documents,” said European police.
According to the police, the criminal network “was also involved in human trafficking and money laundering activities.”
The fake marriage ceremonies took place in town halls around the capital Nicosia and city of Larnaca.
The suspects arrested in Cyprus were being detained by the Larnaca District Court until 7 February.
Proceedings for extraditing the accused arrested abroad to Cyprus had already commenced.
