A coordinated international operation, 'Operation Hard Ball', led to the arrest of 24 alleged members and associates of three India-based criminal syndicates, including the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, across the US, Canada, and Europe.
Key Points
- US authorities have charged Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar with ordering the assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in November 2023, an event that previously strained India-Canada relations.
- The criminal networks are accused of racketeering, extortion, narcotics trafficking (including 1,000 kg of cocaine seized), targeted killings, and violent crimes impacting the Indian Diaspora.
- Despite being incarcerated, Lawrence Bishnoi is alleged to have continued running his criminal network, which has expanded operations to Canada, the US, and parts of Europe.
In one of the largest coordinated crackdowns on India-linked transnational organised crime, law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada and Europe have arrested 24 alleged members and associates of three India-based criminal syndicates, including the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The US also charged Lawrence Bishnoi and his aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar for ordering the assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in November 2023.
'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, including even the 2023 assassination in Canada of a prominent Indian political and religious figure,' Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel wrote on his X handle.
According to a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Bishnoi ordered the killing of Nijjar, mentioned as 'H.S.N.' in court documents, outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 three years ago.
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 current action, code-named, 'Operation Hard Ball', is the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates that engage in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, the trafficking of bulk quantities of narcotics across international borders, and other crimes around the world whose impact is especially felt in the Indian Diaspora.
According to a press release by the US department of justice, the criminal networks are accused of carrying out targeted killings, extortion, narcotics trafficking and violent crimes across North America and Europe.
Investigators said the operation resulted in the seizure of approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, 12 firearms and cash, along with multiple search operations across California.
The Lawrence Bishnoi Gang's Reach
The Bishnoi gang is led by Lawrence Bishnoi, one of India's most wanted gangsters.
Bishnoi is currently imprisoned in Ahmedabad's Sabarmati Central Jail. Goldy Brar is at large.
Despite Bishnoi's incarceration, Indian investigative agencies have alleged that he has continued to run his criminal network through trusted associates, encrypted communication and overseas operatives.
The gang has allegedly expanded its operations to Canada, the United States and parts of Europe, where investigators say it has been involved in extortion, contract killings, drug trafficking and intimidation within sections of the Indian Diaspora.
The Bishnoi gang has figured prominently in several high-profile criminal investigations in recent years.
Bollywood actor Salman Khan has remained on the gang's hit list since 2018 over the alleged blackbuck hunting case, as the Bishnoi community considers the animal sacred. Lawrence Bishnoi had publicly threatened the actor on multiple occasions.
In April 2024, two motorcycle-borne gunmen fired several rounds outside Salman Khan's residence, Galaxy Apartments, in Mumbai's Bandra area.
The Mumbai police later arrested several accused and alleged that the conspiracy had been orchestrated by members of the Bishnoi syndicate. Investigators said the attack was intended to intimidate the actor.
High-Profile Cases and Ongoing Investigations
The gang also came under intense scrutiny following the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique in Mumbai in October 2024.
Siddique was shot dead outside his son's office in Bandra. Soon after the killing, a social media post claiming responsibility surfaced in the name of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Later, the Mumbai police arrested multiple suspects and alleged that the conspiracy was linked to the Bishnoi network.
Earlier, the Bishnoi-Brar network was accused of masterminding the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala in May 2022.
Goldy Brar, a close associate of Lawrence Bishnoi who was believed to be operating from Canada at the time, claimed responsibility for the killing.
Officials from the US department of justice said those arrested include suspects in California, Indiana, Georgia, Canada and Spain, while seven others are believed to be fugitives in the United States, two in India and one in Europe.
Announcing the operation, US law enforcement officials said the coordinated action reflected the determination of authorities in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia to dismantle transnational organised crime networks operating across multiple countries.
Investigations are continuing, and officials indicated that further arrests could follow.
In another post on X, FBI Los Angeles posted the picture of Satinderjeet Singh and announced a price of $50,000 as reward in exchange for information which can lead to his arrest.
'Today's coordinated operation strikes at the heart of three brutal transnational organizations that have terrorised families, exploited communities, and stolen lives through ruthless acts of violence in the US and abroad,' said Patrick Grandy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme said the agencies disrupted the operations of 'organized criminals who used murder, cruelty and fear to extort and control people in both Canada and the United States.'
'We won't pause for long to reflect on the work it took to get this job done, we'll keep doing what we do best to preserve public safety in Canada, in the United States, and around the world,' Duheme said.
With inputs from PTI
