SAINT-ETIENNE, Sept 28: French police have dismantled a ring that arranged dozens of marriages of convenience aimed at providing illegal immigrants in Britain with European Union residency papers, officials said on Tuesday.

"These marriages of convenience with a European Union citizen allowed foreign (non-EU) citizens to legally stay on British soil and find jobs without any problem," a French official said.

The gang recruited French women willing to be paid to marry men from North Africa, Egypt and Pakistan who wanted to stay in Britain, they said. -AFP