Washington, July 8 (IANS) A coordinated international law enforcement operation has led to the arrest of 24 alleged members of three transnational organised crime groups across the United States, Canada and Europe, with US authorities accusing the networks of murder, extortion, drug trafficking and other violent crimes stretching across several continents.
The US Department of Justice said on Tuesday (local time) that 37 defendants have been charged in three federal indictments unsealed in California as part of ‘Operation Hard Ball’, a years-long investigation targeting organised criminal syndicates maintaining networks in India, North America and Europe.
Authorities said 13 defendants were arrested in the United States, including 11 in California, while three were arrested in Canada and one in Spain. Seven others were already in custody, and investigators are continuing to search for 10 fugitives located in the United States, India and Europe.
As part of the operation, investigators seized about 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, approximately $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms while executing dozens of search warrants in California.
“Transnational criminal gangs who spread fear, drugs, and violence will face the full force of justice and the weight of the federal government,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “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 harbour for these thugs.”
Patrick Grandy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said: “Today’s coordinated operation strikes at the heart of three brutal transnational organisations that have terrorised families, exploited communities, and stolen lives through ruthless acts of violence in the US and abroad.” He added that authorities remained committed to “identifying these violent organisations, disrupting their activities, and ensuring they face the justice they deserve.”
One of the indictments centres on Lawrence Bishnoi, a jailed gangster from Punjab, whom prosecutors describe as the head of a global criminal enterprise allegedly directing political assassinations, murders, extortion, kidnappings, drug trafficking and human smuggling from prison using contraband communication devices. Prosecutors allege the organisation recruited members in India, the United States and elsewhere while exploiting fear within Indian diaspora communities.
Among the allegations is the June 2023 assassination in Surrey, British Columbia, identified in court documents only as “H.S.N.”
Federal prosecutors alleged that Bishnoi and associate Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, ordered the killing. The indictment alleges extortion attempts targeting victims in California, including demands for a $5 million payment, and large-scale cocaine trafficking between the United States and Canada.
Separate indictments accuse the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria syndicate of operating an international network involved in murder-for-hire, kidnappings, narcotics trafficking, illegal firearms dealing and extortion. Prosecutors also allege the group worked with corrupt officials to target rivals through false criminal accusations.
A third indictment charges an alleged Canada-based trafficking network with smuggling hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine from Southern California into Canada using long-haul trucks.
If convicted, many of those charged would face mandatory minimum prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment.
–IANS
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