ISLAMABAD: The UK Border Agency in Pakistan announced here on Thursday that it was trying to prevent illegal migration and had cracked down on criminal gangs involved in sham marriages.

A press release issued by the British High Commission said over 200 people had been stopped from travelling illegally to the United Kingdom, 12 arrested for being involved in a Slovak-Pakistan sham marriage scam and about 6,000 forged documents submitted with visa applications detected.

The UK Border Agency’s Regional Director for Pakistan Carol Doughty said: “We welcome genuine travellers from Pakistan and between January and March, 2011, issued over 35,000 visas to Pakistani nationals.

“But we will not tolerate immigration abuse and will punish those who break immigration laws. Our aim isn’t just to prevent illegal migration but also identify and take out the criminals behind these immigration scams.”

In February, 12 Pakistani and Slovak nationals were arrested following an investigation begun by the agency in Islamabad into criminal gangs organising sham marriages.

Slovakian women would fly to Pakistan and enter into marriages with Pakistanis. Documentation would then be provided to the men to support a visa application. The documentation was generally forged to make it appear that the Slovakian womenlived and worked in the UK.

Between January and March, the agency worked with air carriers to stop 214 passengers intended to travel to the UK from Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar without proper documentation.

A 40-year old man from Karachi was jailed for six years and nine months on July 29 after trying to smuggle heroin through Manchester airport.

About the detection of about 6,000 forged travel or supporting documents over the past year, it said Pakistan had one of the highest levels of forgery detection in visa applications. In many cases forged documents are submitted on an applicant’sbehalf by unscrupulous agents.

The agency warned that applications made using forged documents or attempting deception would be refused and applicants would face a ban of up to 10 years from entering the UK.

According to the press release, UK Immigration Minister Damian Green has said: “We are doing more than ever to stop those seeking to abuse our immigration system from entering the UK and, as this investigation clearly demonstrates, that work does not stop at the UK border.”