An Indian national unlawfully living in the United States has been charged with allegedly distributing methamphetamine from a pizza outlet in California, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said.He has also been charged with possessing firearms in connection with drug trafficking.According to court documents, 50-year-old Kawal Preet Singh sold wholesale quantities of methamphetamine from a Round Table Pizza restaurant he operated in Dinuba, California, while armed with illegal firearms.A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Singh, charging him with “distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime”, US attorney Eric Grant announced, according to the DOJ.The charges follow a federal investigation into organised Indian crime in California’s Central Valley, which identified Singh as a subject, the DOJ said.On August 18, federal agents searched Singh’s home and business and seized more than 40 pounds of methamphetamine, three firearms and more than $10,000 in cash, according to the department.The DOJ said Singh faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison, along with a fine of up to $10 million, if convicted on the drug-trafficking charges.He also faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, to be served consecutively to any other sentence, and up to life imprisonment for possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.The department stressed that “The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.The case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, described by the DOJ as a “whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organisations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.”
