Gujarat : Woman Arrested with Counterfeit Portuguese Passport 

Ahmedabad :  The Ahmedabad Airport Police in Gujarat apprehended a woman from Mehsana who was in possession of a counterfeit Portuguese passport while returning from London to Ahmedabad. Authorities from the immigration department uncovered the duplicity upon inspection.

The individual in question, Gita Patel, hails from Kadi town in the Mehsana district. Gita Patel and her husband, Mahesh Patel, relocated to London approximately nine years ago with a visa valid for two years. However, they remained in the country unlawfully for an additional seven years.

In 2021, Gitaben encountered knee issues necessitating medical attention, which was unavailable through legal channels in England. Additionally, they couldn’t formally return using an Indian passport. Subsequently, the couple invested 50,000 pounds to acquire Portuguese passports. Gita Patel’s passport was issued under the name Rita Manegese. Under this false identity, they traveled to Delhi in 2021 for medical treatment before returning to London.

On December 2nd, Gitaben boarded a flight from London to Ahmedabad. Upon her arrival at Ahmedabad Airport, suspicions surrounding her passport prompted immigration officials to discover the lack of data validity within the Portuguese database.

Consequently, the woman was handed over to the Ahmedabad City Crime Branch. The immigration department has also notified the Indian Embassy in London regarding the fraudulent passport. A local police source has confirmed ongoing investigations into the matter.