The United States has charged jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his close aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar with ordering the assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, as part of a sweeping FBI-led international crackdown on three transnational organised crime networks that led to 24 arrests across North America and Europe.
The charges were announced under "Operation Hard Ball", a years-long investigation targeting criminal syndicates allegedly involved in murder, extortion, drug trafficking, weapons offences and other organised crime activities across multiple countries.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), authorities executed more than 50 search warrants and arrested suspects in California, Indiana, Georgia, Canada and Spain.
Announcing the coordinated enforcement action, the DOJ said 37 defendants have been charged across three separate federal indictments involving three organised crime groups with links to India. Of them, 24 have been arrested, while 10 remain fugitives.
LAWRENCE BISHNOI INDICTED IN US
One of the three federal indictments focuses on jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, whom US prosecutors accuse of directing a global criminal enterprise from prison in India.
According to court documents, Bishnoi and Brar ordered the assassination of Nijjar, identified in the indictment as "HSN", outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.
The killing sparked a major diplomatic row after then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged links between Indian government agents and the murder, a claim New Delhi dismissed as "absurd and motivated".
According to the indictment, Bishnoi used contraband mobile phones and internet-based communication devices to oversee alleged political assassinations, murders, extortion, kidnappings, drug trafficking, human smuggling and other criminal activities across multiple countries.
Prosecutors also named alleged key associates Goldy Brar, identified as the syndicate's North American leader, and Rohit Godara, who allegedly oversaw operations in Europe. According to the indictment, both men helped coordinate the gang's activities outside India.
US prosecutors allege the organisation used violence to intimidate victims, particularly within Indian diaspora communities, while promoting its criminal reputation through social media and online posts to strengthen its influence.
The DOJ also alleges the Bishnoi enterprise financed its operations through international cocaine trafficking and extortion.
According to prosecutors, gang members threatened victims through encrypted messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, demanding millions of dollars while warning of violence against victims and their families.
Investigators also allege the syndicate stole cocaine shipments from rival trafficking groups and coordinated narcotics smuggling between the United States and Canada.
TWO OTHER CRIME SYNDICATES ALSO CHARGED
The second federal indictment targets the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria organisation, which prosecutors describe as another India-based criminal syndicate with operations extending into the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
"Transnational criminal gangs who spread fear, drugs, and violence will face the full force of justice and the weight of the federal government," First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said.
FBI officials said the operation struck at the core of violent criminal organisations operating across several countries.
"Today’s coordinated operation strikes at the heart of three brutal transnational organisations 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.
The sweeping investigation was carried out jointly by the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, US Customs and Border Protection, and multiple law enforcement agencies across North America and Europe.
CANADA WELCOMES CRACKDOWN
Canada's national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), said the coordinated operation marked a major step in dismantling three transnational organised crime networks led by Lawrence Bishnoi, Ravinder Dhanda and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria.
In a statement, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said it had played a key role in the years-long investigation, working closely with the FBI and other international partners to identify and disrupt the criminal networks.
