Locals lured into marriages of convenience are suffering death threats when they try to divorce claims Government MP Ashfield DeVent.

He said Bermudians were tempted by the offers of thousands of dollars only to find they got paid hundreds after having the sham marriages to drug dealers.

Mr. DeVent told the House last night in the budget debate on the Home Affairs ministry: "A lot of people out there find themselves being used.

"In some regard they are selling their birthright. It's something we need to take seriously. Many of these women are marrying a man who remains in the country to be involved in illegal activity, the drug trade."

He said many women found out too late that they had made a serious mistake but didn't have a chance to change their mind. Mr. DeVent, who also works as a radio journalist covering the courts, said he had often seen cases where women found out they didn't even know the real name of the man they had married.

"They came in under false documents. I find that particularly in my constituency quite a few people approach me to get assistance in getting out of a marriage."

He said they were often frightened because they had been threatened. "If they intend to get out their lives are being threatened, physical threats. Think long and hard before you begin to sell your birthright and your country."

Last last year Government tightened up marriage rules by passing The Marriage Amendment Act, which requires people planning to wed to get a certificate from the Registrar General.

All planned marriages must now be advertised in the Official Gazette. Opposition MP Maxwell Burgess said Government had started well in tackling the problem but he feared people could get round the problem by marrying abroad.

He said some locals honestly believed they were in a proper marriage while the foreign partner was using it simply to stay on the island.

Another way to raise the stakes was to have a child, said Mr. Burgess. "You might declare a marriage null and void, that's easy to do. It's not so easy to declare a fatherhood null and void."

He said MPs needed to get their minds round the problem of marriages of convenience.

Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister said his department were often alerted by concerned family members about a relative who was planning to marry but had no plans to live with the new partner. He said if Government was satisfied it was a marriage of convenience then a marriage certificate would not be issued and the foreign partner would only remain on the island if they had a work permit.

"If the marriage becomes a marriage we will give a spouse's certificate, if there's no evidence they won't get it."