JALANDHAR: In an international crackdown, named ‘Operation Hard Ball’, law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada and Europe arrested 24 persons, including 11 from California, connected to three India-based transnational organised crime groups charged with a litany of criminal acts, including the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in 2023.US Department of Justice said this operation was the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates that engage in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, the trafficking of bulk quantities of narcotics across international borders and other crimes around the world whose impact is especially felt in the Indian diaspora.The DOJ also unsealed three separate indictments against gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and against Canada– based Ravinder Singh Dhanda. In the indictment, Bishnoi, who is currently lodged in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat, and his associate Satinderjit Singh alias Goldy Brar have been accused of ordering Nijjar’s assassination, who has been identified only as H.S.N. “as he left a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023”. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation also put Goldy Brar on the ‘Most Wanted List’ and announced a reward of $50,000 for information leading to his arrest.The indictment filed against Jaggu Bhagwanpuria said one of his associates threatened a victim and then provided the victim’s name to a corrupt law enforcement officer in India’s Punjab state, who then falsely accused the victim, the victim’s father and victim’s sister of a January 2026 murder of a victim in India and extorting money from them.In the crackdown, authorities also recovered 1,000 kg of cocaine, 1 kg of heroin and a dozen firearms during this operation.“In total, 37 defendants — including two defendants who ran their global criminal syndicates while imprisoned in India — are charged across three indictments unsealed today,” said the US Attorney’s Office for Central District of California.US authorities announced that they were looking for 10 fugitives — seven in the United States, two in India and one in Europe. A total of 23 search warrants were executed in the Sacramento area and 11 warrants were executed in the Los Angeles area.According to the indictment against Bishnoi, his enterprise routinely targeted prominent religious, social and political leaders with violence, and used these high-profile acts to terrorise and extort members of the community. For instance, in November 2023, Bishnoi claimed responsibility for a separate shooting that occurred at the Vancouver, Canada, residence of a prominent Indian actor and singer, and warned in the Punjabi language in a Facebook post, “no one can save you from us.”Bishnoi, Brar, Godara and others extorted victims via WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging applications by threatening violence against the victims or the victims’ families. For example, Bishnoi, Brar, Godara and other defendants attempted to extort victims in Los Angeles and Thousand Oaks, demanding in December 2025 and January 2026 that the latter victim make a $5 million payment.In addition to these extortion schemes, the Bishnoi enterprise helped fund its activities through international drug trafficking and stealing drug shipments from rival gangs. For example, in November 2024, Bishnoi and Brar oversaw the transportation of 49 kilograms (108 pounds) of cocaine that was intercepted in Redlands and was intended for shipment via long-haul semi-trucks from the US to Canada.From March 2024 to July 2025, the Bishnoi enterprise stole a total of approximately 520 kilograms of cocaine in the greater Los Angeles area from rival drug trafficking gangs.In the indictment against Bhagwanpuria, 17 defendants were charged for operating a criminal enterprise that engaged in murder-for-hire, drug trafficking, kidnappings, extortions, weapons trafficking and other crimes around the world, including in the United States and Canada. Details of their crimes have been mentioned in the indictment.Ravinder Singh Dhanda of Vancouver, Canada, and 10 others were charged in an eight-count indictment alleging they transported, smuggled and distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine each week from theUS into Canada.A news conference held by US officials to announce the details of the crackdown was also attended by Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme.“Transnational criminal gangs who spread fear, drugs and violence will face the full force of justice and the weight of the federalgovt,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli during the news conference. “Working together, law enforcement in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia are determined to target and dismantle these criminal organisations wherever they operate. There is no safe harbor for these thugs,” he said.“Today’s coordinated operation strikes at the heart of three brutal transnationaorganisations 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. “We, alongside our partners, remain steadfast in our commitment to identifying these violent organisations, disrupting their activities, and ensuring they face the justice they deserve,” he added.
