AN international fake marriage fraud started in East Lancashire and reached as far as Bombay, a court has been told.

One man was offered £5,000 to take part in a marriage, but he was no more than a pawn in a much larger game controlled from Blackburn but reaching out as far as India, Blackburn Magistrates heard.

Mohammed Nasar Nassib travelled to Bombay where he posed for wedding pictures, part of the plot to deceive immigration officials and facilitate illegal entry into the UK of his bogus bride.

Nassib, 21, of Snow Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to assisting in the illegal entry into the UK of Nazranhnabanu Gulam Patel between September 1998 and January 2000.

District judge Paul Firth ruled that his powers of punishment were insufficient and committed Nassib on bail to Preston Crown Court for sentence.

Richard Mitcalf, prosecuting, said the case came about as the result of a major police investigation which had resulted in a number of people being charged with conspiracy in respect of immigration fraud.

He said the fraud in total could be represented by a cartwheel, with the principal players forming the hub and people like Nassib making up the spokes of the wheel. Mr Mitcalf said an elaborate web of deceit had been woven around the fraud involving Nassib which was one of many carried out over a number of years. A false address, job and pay slips were all provided in the UK.

In Bombay the marriage ceremony was not properly officiated, but certain documents were produced, along with the photographs, to the entry clearance officer at the British Consulate. "A proper wedding never took place and the wedding photographs were in effect posed for the sole purpose of applying for entry," said Mr Mitcalf. "Fingerprint and handwriting evidence linked the defendant to all stages of the fraud although the prosecution do not say he was the mastermind behind the operation.

Basharat Ditta, defending, said Nassib had been arrested as a small part of a huge police operation which had been going on for over five years. He said Nassib had been approached and offered £5,000 to take part in the bogus marriage when he was just 18 years old.

"He was approached and it was put to him that there was an easy way to make a lot of money," said Mr Ditta.

"To his credit he refused but his family had debt problems, the family home was being repossessed, and when a second approach was made and the sum of £5,000 dangled in front of him he foolishly took the bait," said Mr Ditta.

Everything after that was done for Nassib and he simply signed documentation as and when he was told to. Mr Ditta said the house was arranged for him and he simply signed the lease agreement. Other documents were completed before he signed them and the flight to Bombay was paid for by someone else.

"My client is from Pakistan and when in India he felt isolated," said Mr Ditta. "He was taken to a place and signed some forms, he was taken to the marriage ceremony and eventually he was taken to the airport and put on a plane back to the UK.

"For his trouble he was promised £5,000 but, because the scam did not work, he received nothing."

He said his client had been more than frank with the police following his arrest, naming names and exposing those who had manipulated him.

"The arresting officer was at pains to point out that if he co-operated then, in due course, he would make various representation to the Crown Prosecution Service," said Mr Ditta.

"The police believed he could offer vital evidence and they wanted to deal with him by way of a caution."