Ahmedabad, Jun 14 (IANS): A man who was attempting to travel to the UK using a forged passport has been apprehended at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here, an official said on Thursday.

Dilip Rajubhai Modhwadia was intercepted by an Immigration Officer who discovered the passport was fake during a routine inspection of suspicious passengers.

The man was eventually arrested while the seizure of the bogus passport was done by the Special Operations Group (SOG), which has launched a further investigation.

Modhwadia allegedly paid Rs 22 lakh to acquire the fake passport.

"Modhwadia, originally from Porbandar, was preparing to fly to the UK when the immigration officer's suspicion led to a thorough investigation, revealing that the passport was counterfeit. The passport was discovered to have been created using false documents from Valsad, showing a place of birth in Dwarka. The SOG identified that the passport was obtained through an agent named Raju Bagon, who also arranged a six-month visa for Modhwadia," a source said.

The authorities are now probing how the payment was made to the agent and investigating the extent of the racket involved in producing and distributing fake documents.

They are also looking into how many individuals have been sent abroad on bogus passports and identifying all those involved.