Files being sent to DPP after Ballyhaunis arrests

EIGHT people who were being held in Ballyhaunis as part of a nationwide garda operation into sham marriages have all been released.

Gardaí have confirmed that files in all cases are to be sent to the DPP.

The searches in Ballyhaunis were carried out as part of Operation Vantage, a nationwide probe by An Garda Síochána into sham marriages

The Garda National Immigration Bureau began targeting so-called marriages of convenience here on a widespread scale earlier this year.

The greatest number of searches this week - 21 in all - were carried out in Dublin city and county.