'Wedding of errors' raised suspicions, sham marriage trial told

Peter Frederick, aged 26, and 38-year-old Lenka Jacova tied the knot at Shrewsbury Register Office on July 29 2013.

But the ceremony prompted officials to send report concerns about the union to the Home Office, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

They complained that the pair were unable to converse in the same language and had little interaction during the service. One knew very little about the other and had to refer to notes before answering questions on the subject.

Each gave conflicting details of their lives together, one being unable to provide the name and address of the person they were marrying, it was said.

Although officials were suspicious the wedding was not stopped but anxiety over its legitimacy was compounded by a later interview with investigators, said Mr Stephen Thomas, prosecuting who added: "The couple's knowledge of each other was not consistent with being in a relationship." However the pair still insisted that it was a real romance, the court heard.

The wedding of UK subject Cherene Cotterill and Chibuze Maduagwu was another sham marriage, alleged Mr Thomas. She presented wage slips that purported to showed she had worked at a beauty salon based in Birmingham. When the address was checked it was discovered to be a four bedroom family home, the owner of which said no business had never been run from the property - and had never heard of the beauty parlour supposedly based there, it was said.

Details of the marriage were found among files at the Taylor Way, Tividale home of 34-year-old Olatunji George, who is accused of being 'at the heart' of the racket.

George, church pastor Donald Nwachuckwu, aged 31, from Sabell Road, Smethwick and a 33-year-old man from Bilston, who cannot be named, allegedly gave 'a service' costing up to £6,500 which provided a partner - usually from Eastern Europe - and bogus documents to Africans wanting to stay in this country.

It allowed the couple to marry or 'prove' they were in a durable loving relationship, letting the African apply to remain in the UK as the partner of an EU national living and working here, disclosed Mr Thomas.

Nwachuckwu; the man from Bilston; George, now of Somerland Road, Sheldon; Cherene Cotterill, 26, of Thornhill Road, Handsworth; Lenka Jacova, 38 and Peter Frederick – both from Prosper Street, Wolverhampton; Aishatu Ibrahim, 25, of Routh Road, Burton, Oxford and Idris Agia from Hodnet Grove, Highgate, Birmingham all deny conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law between January 1 2012 and March 13 2015.