3 min readLucknowUpdated: Jul 14, 2026 12:18 AM IST
A 36-year-old man claiming to be a US citizen was arrested by a joint team of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Uttar Pradesh Police in Maharajganj district while he was trying to cross over to Nepal without valid travel documents.
Police said they recovered a Chinese passport from his possession, besides Nepalese currency, religious books, an AI-powered translation device, and a cellphone, among other items.
Police said the man was intercepted on July 11 (Saturday) while attempting to cross into Nepal through an unofficial footpath rather than the designated immigration checkpoint.
“He was not carrying documents that could confirm his identity. He identified himself as Jordan Brown, a resident of California in the United States. We have informed the US embassy about him,” Maharajganj Superintendent of Police Shakti Mohan Awasthi said.
Sources in the police said that during questioning, the foreigner said that he had previously served in the United States Navy.
“He said that he travelled to Thailand last year, where he lost his passport, visa, and other travel documents. He later travelled to Sri Lanka before entering India by sea. He claimed to have spent several days in Goa, then travelled to Noida and eventually arrived in Maharajganj,” a senior police officer said, adding he came to the border town in a bid to cross over to neighbouring Nepal.
Stating that all the claims made by the man are yet to be independently verified, the police officer flagged concerns about his mental well-being.
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Police said they are examining whether Brown had received assistance or advice from anyone in India to travel to the Nepal border, but emphasised that there was no evidence yet to substantiate it.
According to police, SSB personnel deployed along the international border received information on the morning of July 11 about a foreign national reportedly behaving suspiciously near a border village. “A patrol team located and detained the man. However, the man broke free during questioning and tried to run towards the border, pushing past SSB personnel and several local residents before being caught,” said a police officer.
Police said officers from several intelligence agencies later questioned the man but found nothing at that stage to suggest an immediate security threat.
A case under the provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act has been registered against him at Sonauli police station. He was produced before a local court, which remanded him to judicial custody pending further investigation.
