Twenty-four people have been arrested in an international operation against India-based organized crime networks, US officials say. Speaking Tuesday, they said several of those arrested face allegations of involvement in the killing of a prominent Sikh leader in Canada.
The operation was carried out through a joint effort by law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada and Europe. They had been gathering information on these crime networks through a long-running investigation. The criminal groups are accused of involvement in extortion, premeditated murder, shootings, attacks, forced extortion of money, and drug trafficking. Officials said charges have been brought against several individuals. Two of them are accused of running international crime networks even while imprisoned in India. Of those charged, 10 remain at large while the rest have been taken into custody.
US First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said: “Transnational criminal organizations that spread fear, drugs and violence will face prosecution and the full force of the federal government.”
Among the incidents named in the indictment unsealed Tuesday is the 2023 killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The crimes listed in Tuesday’s indictment include the 2023 killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Punjab-born Nijjar was a well-known activist in the “Khalistan” movement, campaigning for the establishment of an independent state for Sikhs.
The indictment states that 33-year-old Lawrence Bishnoi of Punjab, India, ordered Nijjar’s killing from prison. Canada has listed his organization as a terrorist group.
Officials allege that while Bishnoi publicly presents himself as a devout “patriot,” he used this image to recruit members and associates for his crime network across India, the United States and other countries.
They allege he personally ran a vast criminal empire across many countries, involving political assassinations, murder, shootings, attacks, extortion, kidnapping, drug trafficking and human trafficking, among other crimes.
Also named in the indictment is 38-year-old Jaggu Bhagwanpuria of Punjab, India, a gang leader imprisoned in India who was once Bishnoi’s associate before becoming his rival. According to officials, Bhagwanpuria built his own crime network with more than 1,000 members across the United States, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Bhagwanpuria and 16 others face charges of contract killings, drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, arms trafficking and various other criminal activities across the United States, Canada and other countries worldwide.
Charges have also been brought against 57-year-old Ravinder Singh Dhanda of Vancouver, Canada. Authorities allege he was involved with a major drug-trafficking ring that smuggled hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine from the United States into Canada each week.
FBI Los Angeles field office assistant director in charge Patrick Grady said: “Today’s coordinated operation struck at the core of three dangerous transnational criminal organizations that have terrorized families through violence across the United States and around the world, harmed communities, and taken lives.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report