Ten people have been sentenced for their part in an immigration scam that allowed people from Pakistan to enter the UK by deception and ‘systematic manipulation of the rules’.
Men and women already resident in Britain were provided with forged documents to allow their spouses into the country even though they did not qualify for entry.
Ringleader Mahmood Hussain, 56, a respected member of the community in Burnley, Lancashire, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for assisting unlawful immigration.
Preston Crown Court heard how he had forged documents and provided false information on visa applications by claiming the applicants had worked for him at a garage he ran in Burnley.