GARDAÍ have stepped in to prevent 57 bogus marriages so far this year, while 16 people have been arrested on various charges linked to fraudulent unions.Chief Supt John O’Driscoll of the Garda National Immigration Bureau revealed the figures amid growing concern over the number of fake marriages, typically to circumvent immigration laws.
Of the 16 people arrested so far this year following garda intervention, nine have since been removed or deported from the state.
In addition to the 57 planned marriages halted by gardaí this year, others involved in proposed marriages are being investigated for possible fraud and bigamy.
Chief Supt O’Driscoll said many of the suspicious marriages involved Latvian women and Pakistani men.
"At all times there are people who are trying to enter this state and other states and remain there illegally or attempting to become lawfully there through illegal means," he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme.
He said other countries had seen a surge in fake colleges and forged documentation being used by people trying to bypass migration rules, while marriage had been used by some in this country.
"Chief Supt O’Driscoll said the Latvian authorities had alerted gardaí earlier this year to the high number of its citizens entering into possibly rigged marriages.
"Some of these were very vulnerable women and they asked for our assistance and we assured them that we would give them that assistance," he said.
Earlier this week it emerged that a senior superintendent registrar with the HSE had expressed concerns that between 10% and 15% of civil marriage ceremonies may be marriages of convenience, while the General Register Office said bogus marriages could be on the rise because of the Metock ruling by the European Court of Justice, which means that family members can move freely within the European Union, irrespective of where a marriage takes place.
The Garda activity in this area follows launch of Operation Charity last November, with Chief Supt O’Driscoll revealing that of the 57 cases in which gardaí wrote to registrars, their objections were withdrawn in just one of those cases, and none of the ceremonies went ahead.
He said many of the women involved were "vulnerable" and "in financial dire straits" and often do not know the consequences of entering into a fake marriage.
Interpol have been working with gardaí to uncover some of the bogus marriages, with Chief Supt O’Driscoll claiming the men involved are from Pakistan, India and some African countries in the main.
Concerns have also been raised over the possibility of people trafficking being a factor in some cases and Chief Supt O’Driscoll said various agencies, including the Revenue Commissioners, were working to limit the number of bogus marriages.
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