A 36-year-old US citizen arrested while trying to illegally cross the Indo-Nepal border was carrying a Chinese passport along with several other documents and electronic devices, officials said on Tuesday.
The accused, identified as Jordan Brown, a resident of California, was arrested in the Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. His arrest led to his being interrogated by several central intelligence and security services, due to the nature of the documents obtained from him.
But officials said no evidence of suspicious or anti-national activities has emerged from the investigation so far.
“Various agencies are independently verifying the details he provided, including his identity, travel history, previous visits to other countries and the circumstances under which he entered India,” a senior police officer said.
According to investigators, Brown is believed to have entered India by sea in November last year. Authorities are now piecing together his movements over the past few months and examining whether his account matches immigration and travel records.
Read also: US citizen detained at Nepal border ‘entered India via sea route without valid documents’
Police said a detailed forensic examination of the items seized from Brown was also being conducted. Among the articles found were a Chinese passport, a mobile phone, Nepalese currency, religious books, an artificial intelligence translation device, a diary, a wristwatch and other personal belongings.
Officials did not reveal how Brown obtained the Chinese passport or whether it was real, saying those aspects are part of the ongoing investigation.
Brown’s travel path
During interrogation, Brown told investigators that he had traveled to Thailand on a tourist visa, where he allegedly lost his passport, Additional Superintendent of Police Siddharth said. According to him, he later traveled to Sri Lanka by sea before returning to India via sea route in November 2025.
Police said Brown claimed that he was living in Goa since then and was trying to enter Nepal when he was intercepted by members of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) near the Indo-Nepal border.
Officials said Brown was unable to provide any valid travel documents at the time of his arrest. Investigators are now verifying his account, including his movements across multiple countries and the circumstances surrounding the loss of his passport and his subsequent entry into India.
A case has been registered against him at Sunoli police station under Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act for allegedly entering India without valid travel documents.
This comes days after the National Investigation Agency detained five Ukrainians and a US citizen for their alleged involvement in providing terrorist and combat training to ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, ANI reported. The six were produced before the Patiala House Court on Friday last week.
(With inputs from Annie)
