SHAM marriage fixers are using official images of RTE stars as part of their plan to dupe gardai.

The Irish Sun can reveal how officers from the Garda National Immigration Bureau under Operation Vantage established how one dodgy couple photoshopped their faces onto Claire Byrne’s big day snap.

Gardai have investigated a number of sham marriages (stock image)

But their plan backfired when an eagle-eyed investigator spotted the outfits were the exact same as the RTE presenter’s.

We contacted Ms Byrne about the theft of her photo but she refused to make any comment.

And the scam is just one of many used by the “facilitators” who rake in a fortune from helping people gain illegal status in Ireland.

During Operation Vantage, which was established in 2015 to combat the soaring numbers of fake marriages here, investigators established how a convicted rapist was planning to travel here to participate in a bogus wedding.

We also obtained an image of just some of the €350,000 fixer Resen Modeley used during his time here before he was deported last year.

In addition, the Gardai rescued a young Czech woman with learning difficulties over fears a crime gang was planning to recruit her into a sex ring, and another vulnerable Latvian woman.

Both women were later returned to social service agencies in their respective homelands.

Other investigations showed how a 22-year-old male was planning to wed a 75-year-old pensioner and how teenage girls from Eastern Europe were applying to marry men in their 60s.

Since the launch of the crackdown in 2015, officers have investigated 650 suspected bogus marriages.

The probes established how the fixers were charging people €10,000 for the ‘weddings’ — with many of the women being promised huge amounts but often just receiving as little as €300.

Other figures obtained by us show that 500 marriages have “failed to proceed” due to objections from marriage registrars and investigators here.

And official statistics show how 88 people have been arrested and others deported from the State since the crackdown.

Modeley raked in €350,000

The probe also established how women — who are mainly from Portugal, Latvia, Estonia and other Eastern European countries — had been “disrupted and exploited” when they were brought here to marry men mainly from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

As part of the investigation, officers also established how a number of Indian nationals had all applied to marry a number of Eastern European women from the same town.

Recent figures also show how there has been huge reduction in the number of women coming here to get hitched in sham services because of the increased Garda activity.

In 2015, 210 Portuguese women applied to get married, compared to just nine last year. Ninety-six women from Latvia made the same application in 2015, but just 14 last year.

Other stats show how 167 women from Romania made marriage notifications the year before last compared to 47 last year, and 121 females from Hungary made the application in 2015 with just 18 last year.

The total number of applications were down from 916 to just 209.

The crackdown also coincided with the launch of the Civil Registration Act and marriage registrars across the country being trained by GNIB officers on interview techniques.

One of the 88 people identified by gardai during Operation Vantage was Mauritian fixer Modeley — who raked in €350,000 during his time here.

But the fraudster’s empire was smashed when he was arrested by GNIB investigators and pleaded guilty to deception and fraud when he admitted arranging 50 bogus weddings.

Dublin Circuit Court suspended 22 months of the sentence for five years on condition that Modeley consented to being deported to Mauritius.

The crook, who had been living here for several years, based in an apartment in Drumcondra, north Dublin, worked closely with a female pal in Portugal on the scams.

They used social media advertising and provided transport, accommodation and bogus documentation for the women.

By his own admission, Modeley arranged at least 50 bogus marriages, charging €7,000 for each.

He had also taken part in a marriage of convenience but later separated from his “bride”.

He was one of 15 suspected fixers identified by the GNIB during the probe.

Sham marriages happen all over Europe

As a result of its success, Operation Vantage is now used as a model by Dutch-based crime fighting agency Eurojust — the EU’s Judicial Cooperation Unit.

The initiative was run by Det Sgt Dave Kennedy under the command of Det Supt Stephen Courage and Det Chief Supt Dave Dowling.

Det Supt Courage told how the facilitators’ role was to provide bogus documents as part of the plan to convince authorities their marriage application was genuine.

The senior officer said: “Operation Vantage was launched because we had a huge spike in applications to marry in the State between EU and non-EU nationals, in particular non-Irish applicants.

“They were coming here because they felt we were an easy target. When they got married they got EU treaty rights, enabling them to move.

“We had a look at the operation and we developed a strategy to counter it.

Det Supt Stephen Courage Credit: Kenneth O'Halloran - The Sun Dublin

“We received a lot of resources and we were set up to tackle sham marriages and the people who facilitated them.

“But we weren’t going to be able to do this on our own.

“We looked at registrars and provided training to them on what questions to ask in interview.

“The training was ­happening all over the country because the marriages were taking place all over Ireland, especially in the border counties and Limerick, because Dublin had become so busy.

“Those figures tell us that what we’ve done has solved that ­problem. But like any good scam, the people involved in this just move onto something else.”

The senior garda added: “We have had great ­support from the Irish Naturalisation Immigration Service, Eurojust, ­former CAB legal adviser Frank Cassidy, Revenue and foreign embassies here in addressing this issue. There is no legislation stating that a sham marriage is illegal but ­during our inquiries we have ­established theft, fraud and deception offences.

“Once people knew the Gardai and the registrars were looking at their marriage applications, they moved on to other countries such as Cyprus.

“The model that we have adopted is now the role model for sham marriage investigation and associated immigration offences at Eurojust.

“There has been fantastic co-operation with all the stakeholders.”