Chandigarh: The FBI has added an Indian national linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi criminal network to its Criminal Enterprise Investigations most wanted list.The suspect, identified in court documents as 26-year-old “No Name Given Kamal“, was charged in a federal indictment unsealed in July as part of Operation Hard Ball, a US federal crackdown targeting three India-based transnational crime groups allegedly involved in racketeering, targeted killings, extortion and international narcotics trafficking.The FBI said a federal arrest warrant was issued for Kamal on July 1 in the US district court for the central district of California, charging him with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion.According to FBI, the Bishnoi syndicate originated in Punjab and expanded operations into southern California. The indictment alleges Kamal and co-conspirators collected extortion payments and laundered illicit funds from extortion and drug trafficking to Bishnoi associates in India.In one instance cited by the indictment, Kamal allegedly accepted a $15,000 cash extortion payment on behalf of the syndicate in a Riverside, California, parking lot on May 29, 2025.Since launching the operation on July 7, the FBI has placed seven people associated with the Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Ravinder Singh Dhanda organised crime groups on its most wanted list. The broader federal investigation named 37 defendants across three indictments, alleging racketeering, targeted killings, extortion and international narcotics trafficking.Two of the seven listed fugitives, Nitish Kaushal and Harmanveer Singh, have since been arrested by US authorities. A third, Amritpal Singh, was reported dead by his family following a traffic accident in Punjab last year.Kamal and Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, remain at large and face federal extortion and racketeering charges in California.
