Authorities from the U.S., Canada, and Europe launched a joint operation named "Operation Hard Ball" targeting a transnational crime network from India, arresting 24 suspects and charging a total of 37 individuals involved in various serious crimes, including the 2023 assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, an incident that had previously sparked diplomatic tensions between Canada and India.
U.S. Attorney Bill Esseley, alongside representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), jointly announced progress in "Operation Hard Ball," a coordinated law enforcement effort between agencies in the U.S., Canada, and Europe to dismantle an Indian transnational crime syndicate.
This operation resulted in charges against 37 individuals linked to three major Indian crime networks. Authorities have arrested 24 suspects and are actively pursuing 10 fugitives located in the U.S. (7), India (2), and Europe (1). These criminals face serious charges including extortion, kidnapping, arms trafficking, drug trafficking, threats, and premeditated murder.
Among those charged are Lawrence Bishnoi, a leader of an influential criminal group in India’s Punjab state who is currently imprisoned in India, and his childhood close friend Stinderjeet Singh. Both are charged with orchestrating the assassination of 45-year-old Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader who was fatally shot outside a Sikh temple in Canada in 2023.
Authorities noted that Bishnoi cultivated a public image as a "patriot" and devout religious follower to attract and recruit youth into his gangs in India and the U.S., while directing operations via phone calls from his prison in India. His network has been involved in politically motivated killings, extortion, and transcontinental human trafficking.
The 2023 murder of Nijjar had previously triggered a major diplomatic dispute between Canada and India after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated there was "credible evidence" implicating the Indian government in Nijjar’s death. This led to a severe exchange of diplomatic expulsions between the two nations at that time.
Beyond the Bishnoi gang, a two-year investigation by authorities also dismantled two other transnational criminal organizations with members spread across the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Australia, and New Zealand.
One such group is led by Jaggu Phagwanpuria, a former ally turned rival of Bishnoi, who is also imprisoned in India. Phagwanpuria built a mafia network with over 1,000 members worldwide, facing charges including contract killing, arms trafficking, and extortion in both the U.S. and Canada.
Reports indicate that gang members in the U.S. brazenly raided large drug shipments from rival traffickers in California to resell nationwide and smuggle into Canada. Their tactics also involved corrupt local officials in India to harass rivals or informants cooperating with police. Notably, one suspect reportedly managed to command drug trafficking networks even while detained in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, with authorities investigating how he communicated externally.
Meanwhile, authorities charged 57-year-old Ravinder Singh Danda from Vancouver, Canada, along with 11 others, with major international drug trafficking offenses involving the weekly importation of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine from the U.S. into Canada.
/sourceAssociated Press/AFP