Monday, April 25 2005 21:58 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: A Non-Resident Indian woman, who is believed to have made more than Rs 4 crore arranging sham marriages, was jailed for ten years today (Apr 25, 2005).

42-year-old Jaswinder Gill was paid more than Rs 9 lakh a time for setting up bogus weddings to help Indian men skip immigration procedures, the Isleworth Crown Court was told.

Gill of Hayes, West London, was found guilty last month of assisting illegal entry into Britain and trying to pervert the course of justice. She was sentenced to ten years imprisonment today.

Police said that the full extent of her activities was not known but more than two crores was channelled through one bank account in the last few years.

The court heard she told some of the young girls they would work in India, as models or in the beauty trade, soliciting for business by handing out cards at London shopping centres.

Her husband Dharsham, 40, and two other men and a woman are due to be sentenced for their part in the scam.

"These marriages were a charade - arranged between perfect strangers who were coached by Gill to convince registrars of their intentions to live as man and wife in the UK," Detective Superintendent Gerri Mannion said.

"Jaswinder Gill was the driving force behind this enterprise. She manipulated and exploited vulnerable people to suit her own means."