Spanish National Police arrested 12 people suspected of organizing asham marriage network that facilitated illegal immigration into the European Union, Europol said in astatement on Wednesday.

German and Danish authorities dismantled an organised crime group suspected of having facilitated hundreds of sham marriages with EU citizens to grant permanent residence permits to illegal migrants from Asia, German police said Wednesday.

Despite new rules targeting the sham marriage industry, the trade in fake marriages for immigration fraud purposes appears to continue online.