Law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada and Europe have arrested 24 defendants linked to three India-based transnational organised crime groups accused of carrying out violence, extortion, drug trafficking and other crimes across the world, the US Justice Department said.
The coordinated action, named Operation Hard Ball, stems from a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates whose activities have had a major impact on Indian diaspora communities.
According to the Justice Department, 37 defendants have been charged across three indictments unsealed by federal authorities. The arrested suspects include 11 in California, one in Indiana and one in Georgia. Those arrested in the United States are expected to make their initial court appearances in federal court.
Three defendants were arrested in Canada, one in Spain, while seven were already in custody before the latest law enforcement operation.
Authorities said they are still searching for 10 fugitives, including seven in the United States, two in India and one in Europe.
Drugs, cash and firearms seized
As part of the investigation, law enforcement seized around 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms.
Authorities also executed 23 search warrants in the Sacramento area and 11 warrants in the Los Angeles area.
The Justice Department said the targeted groups were involved in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, cross-border narcotics trafficking and other offences.
Officials vow action against transnational gangs
First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said transnational criminal gangs that spread fear, drugs and violence would face the full force of justice.
He said law enforcement agencies in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia were working together to dismantle such organisations wherever they operate.
Patrick Grandy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said the operation struck at the heart of three violent transnational organisations accused of terrorising families, exploiting communities and taking lives.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the operation reflected a united commitment between the LAPD and federal and international partners to pursue those threatening communities.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme said coordinated policing was the most effective way to combat transnational crime, adding that organised criminals had used murder, cruelty and fear to extort and control people in both Canada and the United States.
Bishnoi group accused of running global criminal enterprise
One of the indictments, United States v. Bishnoi, et al., names Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, of Punjab, India, as a key defendant.
Authorities said Bishnoi, a long-imprisoned gangster in India, was once a self-styled university student leader before turning to crime.
The nine-count indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on July 1, alleges that Bishnoi publicly portrayed himself as a patriot, nationalist and deeply religious figure through social media and media interviews.
Prosecutors said he used that image to recruit members and associates for his crime syndicate in India, the United States and elsewhere.
Bishnoi allegedly directed crimes from jail
According to the indictment, Bishnoi privately presided over a sweeping criminal enterprise spanning multiple continents.
Prosecutors alleged that he used contraband cellphones and voice-over internet protocol devices smuggled into his jail cell to direct political assassinations, murders, shootings, extortions, kidnappings, drug trafficking, human smuggling and other crimes worldwide.
The Canadian government designated the Bishnoi enterprise as a terrorist entity in September 2025, according to the Justice Department.
The indictment says Bishnoi delegated day-to-day control of the enterprise to trusted lieutenants and regional leaders. These included Satinderjeet Singh, 32, also known as Goldy Brar, of Punjab, India, who was described as the North American leader of the Bishnoi enterprise.
Also Read: US charges Lawrence Bishnoi in 2023 Nijjar murder case
Other alleged leaders included Rohit Godara, 37, of Rajasthan, India, described as the European leader, and Sukhraj Singh Kang, 58, of Punjab, India.
Prosecutors said Brar and Godara effectively spoke for Bishnoi and helped direct members and associates worldwide, including acts of violence in the United States, Canada and elsewhere.
Gang accused of using fear to extort communities
The Justice Department said the Bishnoi gang engaged in violent activity in every country where it operated, including the United States.
Authorities said the group used violence to create a climate of fear, particularly in India and among Indian diaspora communities around the world.
The indictment alleges that the gang promoted its violence and criminality through online videos and internet posts to support extortion schemes.
Assassination in Canada included in charges
Among the crimes alleged is the assassination of a prominent political and religious leader from India’s Punjab state, identified in court documents as “HSN.”
The victim was living in Canada at the time of his death.
Prosecutors said Bishnoi and Brar ordered the assassination, which took place on June 18, 2023, when two gunmen shot and killed HSN. as he left a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia.
The indictment says the enterprise routinely targeted prominent religious, social and political leaders with violence, using high-profile attacks to terrorise and extort community members.
The indictment also refers to a separate shooting in November 2023 at the Vancouver residence of a prominent Indian actor and singer. Authorities said Bishnoi claimed responsibility for the shooting and warned in a Punjabi-language Facebook post that “no one can save you from us.”
Prosecutors also alleged that Bishnoi, Brar, Godara and others used WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging apps to threaten victims and their families.
The indictment says victims in Los Angeles and Thousand Oaks were targeted, with the latter victim being told in December 2025 and January 2026 to pay $5 million.
Cocaine trafficking and theft allegations
Prosecutors said the Bishnoi enterprise helped fund its activities through international drug trafficking and by stealing drug shipments from rival gangs.
In November 2024, Bishnoi and Brar allegedly oversaw the transportation of 49 kilograms of cocaine intercepted in Redlands.
Authorities said the shipment was intended to be moved by long-haul semi-trucks from the United States to Canada.
From March 2024 to July 2025, the enterprise allegedly stole around 520 kilograms of cocaine in the greater Los Angeles area from rival drug trafficking gangs.
Charges in Bishnoi case
The indictment charges Bishnoi, Brar, Godara and six other defendants with racketeering conspiracy.
They are also charged with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion under the Hobbs Act, six counts of attempted Hobbs Act extortion and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including cocaine and methamphetamine.
Bhagwanpuria group accused of murder-for-hire
A second case, United States v. Bhagwanpuria, et al., involves a seven-count federal grand jury indictment returned on June 25.
It charges 17 defendants with operating a criminal enterprise involved in murder-for-hire, drug trafficking, kidnappings, extortions, weapons trafficking and other crimes around the world, including in the United States and Canada.
The indictment names Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, 38, of Punjab, India, as an associate-turned-rival of Bishnoi who founded his own criminal enterprise in Punjab.
According to prosecutors, the Bhagwanpuria gang operated as a transnational criminal syndicate headquartered in India. The group allegedly had members across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Authorities said it included more than 1,000 members and associates worldwide, including more than 100 in the United States.
Corrupt officials allegedly used in extortion plots
The indictment alleges that the group expanded its power by corrupting law enforcement officers in India and partnering with corrupt government officials.
Prosecutors said the group used false information provided to Indian law enforcement to target perceived rivals and people believed to be cooperating with authorities.
These actions allegedly triggered baseless criminal proceedings and extortion plots by corrupt Indian law enforcement officers.
Stockton man named in alleged false case scheme
According to the indictment, in April 2026, Gurlal Singh, 22, of Stockton, California, a member of the Bhagwanpuria syndicate described by authorities as being in the US illegally, threatened a victim.
He allegedly provided the victim’s name to a corrupt law enforcement officer in India’s Punjab state.
Prosecutors said this led to the victim, the victim’s father and the victim’s sister being falsely accused of a January 2026 murder in India involving a person identified in court documents as “B.S.”
The indictment says the corrupt officer then extorted the victim and the victim’s father in connection with the pending murder case.
A separate alleged member of the syndicate, Gurdev Singh, 26, is accused of attempting to extort a family in the Midwest while in ICE custody, including by threatening to “put bullets in your kids.”
Drug and firearms networks alleged
Authorities said the Bhagwanpuria group funded its activities through drug trafficking networks in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, as well as through illegal firearms dealing.
Garinder Deo, 40, also known as Doctor, Rocket and Ritz Carlton, of Vancouver, Canada, is not charged as a member or associate of the group.
However, prosecutors said he allegedly helped enrich the group by buying bulk quantities of cocaine and heroin to be shipped from Southern California to the eastern United States with help from members and associates of the Bhagwanpuria enterprise.
This included the attempted shipment in June 2025 of 99.2 kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of heroin, which law enforcement intercepted.
The Bhagwanpuria indictment includes charges of racketeering conspiracy and attempted Hobbs Act extortion.
It also includes two counts of conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances with intent to distribute, one count of cocaine distribution, one count of conspiracy to engage in unlicensed firearms dealing and one count of possession of a machine gun.
Dhanda network accused of weekly drug smuggling
A third case, United States v. Dhanda, et al., names Ravinder Singh Dhanda, 57, also known as Randy, Rolex and John Wick, of Vancouver, Canada.
The indictment also names Jaskarn Baghri, 50, also known as Baba, of Surrey, British Columbia, and Gurtej Singh Smagh, 43, also known as Simba, of Creston, British Columbia.
They and eight other defendants are charged in an eight-count indictment returned on June 23.
Prosecutors allege they transported, smuggled and distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine every week from the United States into Canada.
Drugs moved by semi-trucks, prosecutors say
According to the indictment, Dhanda operated a drug distribution network that provided international smuggling services for bulk quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine.
The network allegedly worked with drug trafficking organisations in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Prosecutors said Dhanda negotiated transportation rates and logistics, while subcontracting the storage and movement of drugs.
The narcotics were allegedly concealed and transported on long-haul semi-trucks from the greater Los Angeles area, including Los Angeles, West Covina, Ontario, Fontana and Perris, to the US-Canada border.
Authorities said farm trucks from working farms were sometimes used to hide narcotics en route to Canada.
The indictment specifically alleges the shipment of 430.1 kilograms of cocaine from July 2023 to November 2024.
The Dhanda indictment charges conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances with intent to distribute.
It also charges conspiracy to export controlled substances, operating a continuing criminal enterprise and five counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
Defendants presumed innocent
The Justice Department stressed that an indictment is only an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, many of the defendants face mandatory minimum prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life in federal prison, with a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Agencies involved in investigation
The FBI, Los Angeles Police Department, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and US Customs and Border Protection’s Buffalo Field Office are investigating the cases.
The RCMP is also conducting a parallel investigation into South Asian organised crime.
Assistance was provided by Spain’s Unidad Central Operativa de la Guardia Civil, Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles Division and the Regional Narcotics Suppression Program.
Authorities said the Regional Narcotics Suppression Program is a specialised multi-agency task force managed by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department that targets high-level drug trafficking and money laundering organisations in Southern California.
Further assistance came from the Brownsburg Police Department in Indiana, Pennsylvania State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Philadelphia Field Division, FBI field offices in Buffalo, Sacramento and San Francisco, and FBI Legal Attaché offices in New Delhi, Mexico City, Madrid and Ottawa.
The Justice Department said the case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established under Executive Order 14159, titled Protecting the American People Against Invasion.
The task force is described as a whole-of-government partnership aimed at eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organisations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.
Authorities said the initiative uses interagency collaboration to identify, investigate and prosecute crimes committed by organisations blamed for fuelling violence and instability.
Assistant United States Attorney Declan T. Conroy of the Transnational Organized Crime Section is prosecuting the cases.
