A £3m fake marriages scam has been crushed by the Immigration Service.

Seven people believed to be connected to 300 bogus marriages have been arrested in raids at the weekend. In one raid, a Dutch mother of two and a Nigerian man were captured on Saturday as they were about to wed in a south London register office.

Officials believe up to 300 illegal immigrants each paid the gang around £10,000 to find them a marriage partner so they could live in Britain or other EU countries.

Women from the Netherlands claiming to work in the UK were flown in to marry West African men, a Home Office spokeswoman said.

Foreigners may stay in the UK if they marry an EU citizen. Such couples do not have to prove their intention to live together.

In another raid at an east London home a suspected ringleader who allegedly organised the marriages was arrested and charged with bigamy, perjury and conspiracy to defraud the Home Secretary.

Four others were captured in subsequent swoops around London. One of them, a woman believed to be connected with the facilitation of the marriages, was bailed pending further enquiries.

The bride and groom have been charged with perjury, deception and attempting to assist a foreign national to breach immigration law.

Home Secretary David Blunkett welcomed the arrests: "These operations are testament to the enormous effort and hard work by the Immigration Service to protect the UK's immigration and marriage laws from abuse by determined criminals."