Jordan Brown, who claims to be former US Navy, has made conflicting claims and had a Chinese passport with him
A man who claims to be a US national and to have served in the US Navy has been arrested in India for sneaking into the country without valid identification.
Jordan Brown was detained Monday as he tried to cross over to Nepal from India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh. He tried to escape when challenged by border guards but was arrested with help from local people.
Brown reportedly told officials that he hails from California, studied at the University of California, and served in the US Navy and Special Forces. He said he left the service two years ago.
Indian agencies are viewing Brown’s arrest seriously as in March, an American citizen was arrested by India’s anti-terror agency along with six Ukrainian nationals. Former US special forces soldier Matthew Van Dyke was accused of illegally entering India’s restricted northeast, crossing over into Myanmar illegally, and providing weapons training to insurgents there.
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A man claiming to be a former US Navy serviceman was arrested near the India-Nepal. He was without a passport or valid travel documents, according to police.
Van Dyke recently made headlines for seeking permission to cook his own meals in Delhi’s Tihar Jail where he is being held.
India’s border police recovered 31,460 rupees ($330) in cash and two mobile phones, religious books, an AI translation device, a Chinese passport, a diary, and a wristwatch from Brown.
He has been booked under the Immigration and Foreigners Act for entering India without valid documents. “We have informed the embassies, and further legal proceedings are underway,” said an officer. It is not clear whether the officer was referring to the US and Chinese embassies.
Brown is being questioned by intelligence and security agencies and officials are examining all the recovered items, especially the Chinese passport, First Post reported.
Brown has made various claims about his travel history. According to one account, he traveled to Thailand on a tourist visa. After losing his passport there, he managed to reach Sri Lanka by sea, and then India. Brown claims he resided in Goa on India’s west coast before trying to travel to Nepal.
In another statement, he said he arrived in Goa directly from the US two months ago and spent six weeks there. He then went to Bengaluru, from where he boarded a long-distance bus to the north Indian city of Lucknow on July 8, and later reached Gorakhpur, then hired a taxi to Sonauli, where he was arrested.
