Caught wed-handed
A BENT vicar exposed by the News of the Worldwas dramatically arrested in his church robes yesterday as he prepared to hold a bogus wedding.
Cops swooped after our investigators tipped them off about a lucrative brides-for-sale scam run by a Mr Fixit who charges illegal immigrants £8,000 a time to marry their way into Britain.
The squad who raided the evangelical Celestial Church of Christ in Islington, north London, included plain-clothes and uniformed officers who specialise in immigration fraud.
Boasts
At first the vicar refused to open the door, but officers barged their way in. Superior Evangelist Adeniran Magbagbeola was then seized as he tried to hide his marriage register.
As he was led away in jeans and T-shirt, police were still hunting the Mr Fixit behind the racket.
Earlier last week, Paul Singh Arora had boasted to our reporters how he arranged hundreds of marriages...and could set up a church ceremony because he had a priest "in his pocket".
He said he paid the vicar a £500 backhander each time.
Our inquiries led us to the Celestial Church in a quiet square, where 57-year-old Magbagbeola was about to hold a service.
Posing as an illegal desperate to stay in the country, our reporter told the vicar Arora had demanded £8,000 to stage the wedding and fool the Home Office.
Clutching a Bible, Magbagbeola offered to cut out the middle man and cash in by marrying our groom — though he'd been told he couldn't speak English.
"Who is going to do everything for you?" he asked. "We charge £1,000. You have to go to the town hall and book it and they issue a licence. Tell them the lady worships here, she is a member of this church, OK."
Magbagbeola, a senior figure in the worldwide sect, added: "Once they issue you the certificate, bring it to me with the money and we will fix it up."
He pulled out two marriage licences and said: "This is what I'm doing tomorrow."
Before leaving for the church, Magbagbeola put his finger to his lips and warned our man: "You have to keep quiet. Don't let Paul know, he'll charge a lot of money."
Our investigators already knew how expensive Paul Arora's help is. He told us his £8,000 fee provides a full wedding package — a bride, photos of the ceremony, fake bank statements, wage slips and utilities bills to convince the Home Office the immigrant is living with his "wife".
Britain's biggest wedding faker has even married off scores of unsuspecting women by copying their birth certificates. He then pays hard-up "brides" to pose as them.
"If you are here without a visa I do it at a church where I have the priest in my pocket. I give him £500 a time," Arora told a reporter posing as an illegal immigrant.
"Or if you're here legally, I send you to a register office. I've done hundreds. I do all the paperwork. I'm a sort of solicitor," he laughed.
The Home Office believe it. That's because Arora pinched headed paper from a reputable firm, Landau Zeffertt Weir, and added a bogus address in Eversholt Street, Islington.
It's actually an off-licence where Arora picks up post.
Sikh Arora, dripping in gold jewellery, meets clients at JJ Moon's pub in Kingsbury, north-west London. Last Thursday he was busy there when our investigator turned up.
He sat with two men who already had fake marriages, and a Nepalese immigrant whom he promised "a roly-poly" bride and a two-year visa with work permit. Arora took endless phone calls between talking business over a pint. "When they need money, girls line up for fake marriages," he said.
With us was Pakistani student Agha Mohammed, who paid Arora £5,700 for a fake marriage. "I only saw my wife once on the day of the marriage and didn't even speak to her," admitted Agha, 27.
His marriage took place at Brent register office, north London, last October. He believed his wife was British-born Itrat Fathma, from Luton.
Horrified
But the real Itrat, who is happily married, was horrified when we told her about her other "husband".
"I can't believe someone could steal my name and get me married off like this," she said. "The people behind this should be locked up."
Agha, who longs to settle in Britain, told Arora: "The Home Office refuse to accept my marriage because they want proof that I live with my wife."
Arora told him: "I'll make the papers and send them off tomorrow, back-dated. I'll f**k the Home Office, don't worry." He then turned to our man and said: "I'll sort out a girl for you and figure out where to marry you. I could marry you in a church, I've done so many there."
That boast led to yesterday's church swoop. When officers sifted through documents in the vicar's office, they discovered he'd married the same girl TWICE. They also found bundles of passports.
As they searched, a couple arrived with their wedding guests. An Irish woman of 37 was to marry a 26-year-old Indian, Vimal Patel, who had a bogus Portuguese passport.
The groom was arrested but his "bride" did a bunk. Police also held Arora's ex-girlfriend Mary Murphy and her new man, an Indian.
Arora's rich streak of luck may soon run out too. Cops raided five addresses at dawn yesterday but are still seeking him.
Yesterday Det Sgt Tracey Miller, who headed the operation, said: "We would like to thank the News of the World for their assistance in what has been a very successful operation.
"We've made four arrests and expect several more in the future."
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