A bigamist bride whose sham marriage was raided by immigration officers has been jailed for two years.
Portuguese national Raquel Neto Furtado De Andrade was arrested moments before she said her vows at Harrow Registry Office last October.
Her would be groom, a 32-year-old Nigerian man, was also arrested as he was found to have overstayed his visa, and deported days after the raid.
The Home Office’s immigration enforcement team were called in after staff at the Station Road, Harrow, registry office raised suspicions about the couple.
Investigations showed that De Andrade was still legally married to three other men.
The 22-year-old was subsequently charged with two counts of bigamy, two counts of facilitaiton and one count of perjury.
She pleaded guilty to these charges at Harrow Crown Court and was sentenced for two years imprisonment for each offence on Tuesday, March 4.
Sarah Burton, head of the West London Home Office Immigration Enforcement team, said: “This was a cynical attempt to by-pass immigration controls.
“De Andrade thought her plot would go unnoticed but our officers were one step ahead of the game and stopped the ‘couple’ in their tracks.”
Cllr Susan Hall, leader of Harrow Council, said: “This serves as a clear warning that a jail term could await those who try and abuse the system.”
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