Law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada and Europe have arrested 24 people in a major coordinated crackdown on India-linked transnational organised crime groups accused of killings, extortion, drug trafficking and other serious offences. According to reports from NDTV and the U.S. Attorney's Office, the operation, named 'Operation Hard Ball', was the result of a years-long federal investigation into three India-based criminal syndicates whose activities allegedly stretched across North America, Europe and Asia. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the operation, stating that "today with our brilliant law enforcement partners across the country -- as well as in Canada, Europe, India and Mexico -- we arrested 24 subjects and charged 37 individuals connected to three India-based transnational organized crime groups, with charges including racketeering, extortion, narcotics trafficking, and multiple targeted killings."
As reported by NDTV and the U.S. Attorney's Office, in all, 37 defendants have been charged across three indictments unsealed this week. Of the 24 arrested, 11 were taken into custody in California, while one arrest each was made in Indiana and Georgia. Three defendants were arrested in Canada and one in Spain. Seven others were already in custody before the operation, while authorities are still searching for 10 fugitives out of which seven in the US, two in India and one in Europe. The investigation led to the seizure of over 2,000 pounds of cocaine, more than a pound of heroin, cash and a dozen firearms, with authorities executing 23 search warrants in the Sacramento area and 11 in the Los Angeles area.
According to NDTV and the U.S. Attorney's Office, the investigation led to the seizure of around 1,000 kg of cocaine, 1 kg of heroin, $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms. Authorities also executed 23 search warrants in the Sacramento area and 11 in the Los Angeles area. The operation represents one of the largest coordinated efforts against India-linked organised crime networks operating internationally.
One of the indictments names jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, of Punjab, India, as the alleged head of a global criminal enterprise. As reported by NDTV and the U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecutors said Bishnoi used smuggled mobile phones and internet-based communication devices from prison to direct assassinations, shootings, extortion, kidnappings, drug trafficking and human smuggling. The indictment alleges that Bishnoi and Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, ordered the killing of Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. The killing of Nijjar soured bilateral relations between India and Canada as then prime minister Justin Trudeau sought to link the government in New Delhi to the murder. India rejected the claims as "absurd and motivated." The indictment also alleges the group attempted to extort victims in Los Angeles and Thousand Oaks, including a demand for $5 million.
According to NDTV and the U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecutors said the Bishnoi network used high-profile violence to create fear among Indian diaspora communities and then exploited that fear for extortion. The gang also allegedly used WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging platforms to threaten victims in the US and elsewhere. Two other indictments target groups allegedly led by Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Ravinder Singh Dhanda, which are accused of murder-for-hire plots, drug trafficking, firearms offences and large-scale smuggling of cocaine and methamphetamine from the US into Canada. A second indictment charges 17 defendants tied to an alleged criminal enterprise led by Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, 38, of Punjab, India, which operated across the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Authorities stressed that the charges are only allegations and that all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. If convicted, many of the defendants could face mandatory minimum sentences ranging from 10 years to life in federal prison.
