Foreign brides and grooms were arrested on their wedding days in co-ordinated swoops by enforcement officers probing a suspected international marriage scam.

Yorkshire’s new immigration crime team, comprising UK Border Agency enforcement officers and police, swooped on a number of locations, including Bradford, to arrest the Slovakian brides and Nigerian grooms in their wedding day finery before they reached the churches in Cleckheaton and Scholes yesterday. In one part of the operation, officers were posted at Hartshead Moor service area, between the Brighouse and Chain Bar junctions of the M62, to intercept a number of Nigerian men as they travelled from Manchester towards Bradford.

Anticipation grew throughout the morning as police intelligence suggested that two smartly-dressed men, thought to be the grooms, had arrived at a house in the Tameside area of Manchester.

As their vehicle travelled along the M60 and on to the M62 towards West Yorkshire, the officers who were lying in wait pounced.

Two men were arrested and handcuffed at the service area before being taken away in police vehicles for questioning. A large quantity of cash in an envelope was also recovered.

Intelligence suggested that weddings had been due to take place that day at St Philip and St James Church in Scholes and at St Luke’s in Cleckheaton.

In total, 14 people were arrested from addresses in Bradford, Scholes, Manchester and at Hartshead Moor.

Two of the arrested were suspected Slovakian would-be brides, two were suspected Nigerian grooms and four were alleged “fixers”.

If convicted the men, from Nigeria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, could face up to 14 years in prison.

In similar cases, the ring leaders are thought to have made up to £15,000 per wedding.

Six other Nigerian men were also detained on suspected immigration offences.

Jeremy Oppenheim, UK Border Agency Regional director, welcomed the arrests.

He said: “We will not tolerate immigration abuse and will punish those who break the immigration laws.

“Over recent years, we have clamped down on sham marriages introducing certificates of approval, family permits and encouraged registrars to highlight suspicious cases.

“That’s why suspected sham marriages fell from more than 3,500 in 2004 to under 400 in 2008.

“Under the tougher rules, anyone trying to play the system can expect to face imprisonment for up to seven years.

“It’s a criminal offence to be in the UK through deception and we will fully investigate any allegation that are passed to us.”