OVER 600 SHAM MARRIAGES: 30 ARRESTED IN PALMA

PALMA
NATIONAL Police have arrested 30 people in Palma as part of their nationwide operations to smash an organised gang which specialises in setting up sham marriages.

Chema Manso, chief inspector in the Fraud Squad confirmed yesterday that 68 people across the country have been picked up by the police and questioned over 600 illegal marriages. He said, however, that in spite of the arrests in which police were able to charge the detainees with a specific crime, realistically there are over 1'000 people involved in the network. Manso said that charges which have already been made principally relate to using false documentation but arrests have also been carried out in connection with illegal immigration and bigamy.