Dutch lesbian and Nigerian man arrested at altar moments before sham marriage

She was a lesbian from Holland and he was a man from Nigeria, with no right to live and claim benefits in Britain. Until their wedding was over that is.
But thanks to a sharp eyed vicar, this pair were arrested at the altar moments before they said their vows.
Police and Borders Agency staff hiding in the vestry leapt out and slapped them in handcuffs after a tip-off by the priest, Father Tim Codling.
'Bride' Roqsilmar Marti, 28, and 'groom' Abraham Akinola, 32,  both pleaded guilty in Basildon crown court to conspiracy to commit an immigration offence.
Marrying a citizen of not only Britain, but of any European Union country, gives a non-EU national the right to live, work and claim benefits here


Such sham marriages are a widespread problem, but Father Codling had become wise to such antics at his Church of England church, St John the Baptist in Tilbury, Essex.
And when the Dutch lesbian and the Nigerian man applied for their marriage banns on June 6 for a church wedding in August he realised the groom had given two different homes addresses on official paperwork.

Father Codling said fraudsters were targeting his church because of its growing ethnic diversity and good train links with London making bogus marriage awaydays easy.
He said: 'I think the vast majority of weddings we have at the church appear to be sham marriages. But the way the legislation works means if someone has been given a wedding licence I have to marry them.
'We can only stop weddings if we have reasonable grounds to suspect they aren’t genuine.'
He said one suspect bride had stripped down to her underwear and the back of his church, pulled a wedding dress out of a black bin back and put it on, even though it was clearly twice her size.
He caught out another couple because when he asked the bride to repeat the vows, he began reading out train station names and she repeated them back.