Sham marriage ‘Mr Fix It’ jailed
L-R: Uddin, Dolon, Szczepanik, second line L-R: Razul Miah, Rohde, Drozdowska third line L-R: Wysocka, Potryjus, Tera Miah
A restaurateur who acted as a ‘Mr Fix It’ in a sham marriage scam was jailed for four years at Luton Crown Court on Monday.
Gyash Uddin of Ivy Road, Luton, master-minded sham marriages between Polish women, some of whom worked in his Leighton Buzzard restaurant Moja, and his Bangladeshi relatives, in order to secure the Bangladeshis’ residence in the UK.
Nine people - brides, grooms and associates, appeared before the court charged with conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration laws.
Jailing Uddin, Judge David Farrell QC told him: “You Gyash Uddin were at the centre of this scam. You were the Mr Fix It.”
The only sham marriage which went ahead was that of Dorota Wysocka and Razul Miah at Leighton Buzzard Register Office on February 19 2011, despite Wysocka being in a relationship with Mariusz Rohde.
Rohde acted as an interpreter for Wysocka during the marriage process, but when officers visited Wysocka’s address, they found her in bed with him. Video footage from a mobile phone showed Rohde interpreting as he, Wysocka and Uddin discussed the sham marriage.
Bangladeshi nationals Mohammed Razul Miah, 35, of Mill Road, Leighton Buzzard, and Mohammed Dolon Miah, 35, of Spencer Road, Luton, were each sentenced to two years and six months in jail.
Six Luton residents were also jailed, Polish nationals Rohde, 28, of Hitchin Road for 13 months, Wysocka, 45, of Studley Road for 16 months, Katarzyna Potrykus, 40, of Cowper Road for 12 months, Aneta Szczepanik, 35, of Kingsland Road for 12 months, Kamila Drozdowska, 28, of Bute Street for 13 months and British man Tera Miah, 58, of Hitchin Road for 8 months.
Andy Radcliffe, from the UK Border Agency, said: “This was an organised criminal conspiracy and at its head was Gyash Uddin. His public face was that of a respectable restaurateur, but behind the scenes Uddin was plotting a shameless and persistent abuse of the UK’s immigration laws.
“His actions were those of a man who thought he was above the law, of a man who thought he would not be caught. He was wrong on both counts.
“I hope that today’s convictions send a clear message that we will pursue those who facilitate sham marriages and hold them accountable for their actions.”
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Saturday 25 May 2013
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