Local and international authorities have arrested 24 suspected members of organized crime groups around the world, including several believed to be linked to the 2023 killing of a Sikh activist outside a Canadian temple.
As part of Operation Hard Ball, authorities have arrested in the United States, Canada and Europe, including eight people in Southern California, according to the US attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Three separate federal indictments list alleged crimes across California, including kidnapping, murder and drug trafficking. Authorities say they seized approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine and a kilogram of heroin, as well as $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms.
Thirty-seven people have been charged in the Central District of California, according to the indictment.
Among those indicted is Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, who allegedly masterminded political assassinations, murders, shootings, extortion, kidnapping, drug smuggling, human trafficking and other crimes from his prison cell in India.
A photo taken from a federal court case shows cocaine allegedly linked to organized crime groups in India seized by authorities on September 18, 2023.
(US District Court)
Bishnoi and his childhood friend, Satinderjeet Singh, allegedly ordered the June 2023 assassination of a prominent religious and political leader from the Indian state of Punjab who lived in British Columbia. Although authorities identified the victim only by his first name, HSN, media reports identified him as Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
One of the group allegedly contacted a California resident – identified only by their initials SS – in Fontana, talked about the June 2023 murder and threatened to meet them at their immigration hearing.
A photo taken in federal court filings shows cocaine and heroin seized by authorities as part of an investigation into drug trafficking organizations whose leaders are based in India.
(US District Court)
Singh and Rohit Godara, who was also charged, were accused in a Facebook post of the December 2024 murder of a man – identified by his initials SY – in Stockton. The online post is said to have warned, in Punjabi, “[a]all our enemies, get ready, whatever part of the world you reach, we will get there. “
CalMatters previously identified the victim as Sunil Yadav, who is of Indian origin and is suspected of being a member of the Bishnoi gang.
Another case has been charged against Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, 38, a former Bishnoi associate who is said to have set up his own private crime syndicate that grew to rival Bishnoi’s group. Bhagwanpuria allegedly oversaw and directed the group’s global operations from a jail cell in India, using illegal cell phones and other internet voiceover protocol devices, according to the indictment.
Bhagwanpuria’s gang allegedly had multiple drug trafficking networks in California, each run by a different regional leader. The drugs – often containing 100 kilograms or more of cocaine or methamphetamine – were allegedly collected in Southern California in passenger cars and then transferred to long-haul semitrucks for transport to the eastern US or the US-Canada border.
Bhagwanpuria’s group, said to include more than 100 members and associates in the US, allegedly “impersonated law enforcement officials in India and cooperated with corrupt government officials, including aiding in racketeering schemes,” according to the indictment. The group allegedly provided false information to the police in India, which initiated “baseless criminal proceedings and extortion schemes by the corrupt Indian police against their rivals.”
A photo taken in a federal court case shows a handgun with a short barrel and 30 rounds of ammunition taken from a Bakersfield parking lot on Oct. 7, 2025.
(US District Court)
Members of Bhagwanpuria’s crime syndicate are accused of kidnapping and assaulting an associate in California who is believed to have stolen a quantity of drugs.
The indictment charging Bhagwanpuria also details members of an organized crime group who sell automatic rifles, machine guns and revolvers in Southern California parking lots.
The third indictment charges Ravinder Singh Dhanda, who allegedly operated a cocaine and meth network that provided international smuggling services to drug traffickers in the US, Mexico and elsewhere.
Federal, local and international officials are expected to provide more details about the federal charges and arrests at a Tuesday morning news conference.
