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An international crackdown on Indian organized crime networks has resulted in 24 arrests, according to U.S. officials on Tuesday. The operation also targeted suspects connected to the murder of a notable Sikh figure in Canada.
Law enforcement agencies across the U.S., Canada, and Europe collaborated to investigate crime syndicates involved in racketeering, contract killings, shootings, extortion, and drug trafficking.
Many individuals have been charged, including two who, according to authorities, managed their global criminal operations from Indian prisons. Currently, all except 10 suspects are in custody.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli emphasized, “Transnational criminal gangs responsible for spreading fear, drugs, and violence will face full justice and the power of the federal government.”
One of the charges involves the 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and prominent advocate for Khalistan, a movement seeking a separate homeland for Sikhs.
Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, from Punjab—whose organization is labeled a terrorist group in Canada—is accused of ordering Nijjar’s killing while incarcerated in India. Although Bishnoi publicly portrays himself as a devout patriot, officials say he used this image to recruit members across India, the U.S., and beyond. Behind the scenes, he allegedly oversaw a sprawling criminal enterprise involved in political assassinations, murders, extortion, kidnapping, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and more.
Also charged is Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, 38, another Punjab native who was once an associate and now a rival of Bishnoi. Bhagwanpuria established his own gang, now boasting over 1,000 members across the U.S., Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
In addition to them, 16 others face charges for operating a global criminal network engaged in murder-for-hire, drug trafficking, kidnapping, weapons offenses, and extortion in multiple countries, including the U.S. and Canada.
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