Paradip, July 22: The arrest of an infiltrator from Myanmar on theft charge has brought under sharp focus influx of illegal immigrants to Paradip and Jagatsinghpur.

The Myanmar national and a local settler were arrested on the charge of burgling a shop at Purunagada locality near Jagatsinghpur township.

The local has been identified as Baban Samal native of a nearby village.

It has been established that one of the arrested men — Mew Jawe — is an illegal immigrant. He is from Mawlamyle area of Myanmar. Apart from the offence of theft, a case has been registered against him under the Foreigners’ Act, police sources said.

“We are looking into the background and antecedents of the alleged foreign national. Legal action will be taken on the basis of inquiry findings,” said Satyabrata Bhoi, Jagatsinghpur superintendent of police.

Besides, Mew Jawe has an Indian voters’ photo identity card to his name. The police said that Jawe’s services were sought in the past whenever crew of fishing vessels from Myanmar were arrested. In the past, Jawe was summoned to translate the mother tongue of the arrested crew into Odia and help police in expediting investigation.

From preliminary inquiry, it has been found that Jawe and few others were arrested in Paradip coast in 1999. They were found infringing Maritime Zone of India (regulation of fishing by foreign vessel) Act, 1981.

Later, a local court convicted them. After they had completed the jail sentence, the Myanmar embassy personnel disowned them. As a result, they were languishing in the jail.

However, after the super cyclone flattened Odisha’s coastal belts in October 1999, it triggered ration scarcity in jails. Prisoners, who were booked under petty offences, were released in accordance with the decision of the state government.

The Myanmarees nationals tasted freedom after being released from jail and since then they have been illegally staying in Paradip, Jagatsinghpur, Tirtol and Erasama, said police sources. They gained knowledge of local culture and learnt Odia, too.

Bhoi said: “Investigation is under way to ascertain the number of alleged foreign nationals illegally living in and around Paradip areas. If their foreign national status is established, they would be booked under infiltration law.”