Mumbai: Gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Satinderjeet Singh, alias Goldy Brar, have been charged by the United States for allegedly ordering the assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023. According to a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday by the US Department of Justice follows years-long federal investigation, codenamed “Operation Hard Ball”, into three India-based transnational organised crime syndicates allegedly involved in racketeering, targeted killings, extortion, shootings, transnational narcotics trafficking and other organised crimes. Law enforcement agencies in the US, Canada and Europe arrested 24 defendants, including 11 in California.
In total, 37 defendants, including two, Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, who allegedly ran their global criminal syndicates while imprisoned in India, have been charged in three indictments unsealed on Tuesday. Of those arrested, 11 were apprehended in California, one in Indiana and one in Georgia, and are expected to make their initial appearances in federal court.
Three defendants were arrested in Canada, one in Spain, while seven others were already in custody before the coordinated law enforcement operation.
Authorities are also searching for 10 fugitives, including seven in the United States, two in India and one in Europe.
As part of the investigation, authorities seized about 1,000kgs of cocaine, 1kg of heroin, $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms. They also executed 23 search warrants in the Sacramento area and 11 in the Los Angeles area.
According to a nine-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on July 1, Bishnoi, 33, of Punjab, was a self-styled university student leader before abandoning politics and allegedly turning himself and his followers to organised crime.
“In public, Bishnoi projected an image of himself as a patriot, nationalist and deeply religious individual through social media posts and interviews with news organisations. He used this public image to recruit members and associates to his crime syndicate,” the indictment stated.
“In private, Bishnoi presided over a sweeping criminal enterprise that spanned multiple continents. Using contraband cell phones and other voice-over internet protocol devices smuggled into his jail cell, Bishnoi personally directed political assassinations, murders, shootings, extortion, kidnappings, drug trafficking, human smuggling and other crimes committed by members and associates of the Bishnoi enterprise worldwide,” it added.
According to the indictment, the Canadian government designated the Bishnoi enterprise as a terrorist entity in September 2025.
The indictment says Bishnoi delegated the organisation's day-to-day operations to trusted lieutenants, including Satinderjeet Singh, 32, alias Goldy Brar, the North American leader of the syndicate; Rohit Godara, 37, of Rajasthan, the European leader; and Sukhraj Singh Kang, 58, of Punjab. It says that the gang engaged in violent activities in every country in which it operated and used violence to create a climate of fear, particularly in India and among Indian diaspora communities. The organisation exploited that fear to extort victims while amplifying its criminal reputation through online videos and social media posts.
Among the crimes detailed in the indictment is the assassination of prominent Sikh political and religious leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, identified in court documents as "H.S.N.", who was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.
The indictment alleges Bishnoi and Brar ordered the assassination, which was carried out by two gunmen as Nijjar left the temple. Prosecutors also alleged the enterprise routinely targeted prominent religious, social and political leaders, using such high-profile attacks to terrorise communities and facilitate extortion.
The indictment also alleges that between March 2024 and July 2025, the syndicate stole about 520 kilograms of cocaine from rival trafficking organisations in the greater Los Angeles area.
It further alleges Bishnoi, Brar, Godara attempted to extort victims in Los Angeles and Thousand Oaks, demanding a $5 million payment from one victim between December 2025 and January 2026.
Bishnoi, Brar, Godara and six others have been charged with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion under the Hobbs Act, six counts of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine.
It further alleges Bishnoi, Brar, Godara attempted to extort victims in Los Angeles and Thousand Oaks, demanding a $5 million payment from one victim between December 2025 and January 2026.
Bishnoi, Brar, Godara and six others have been charged with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion under the Hobbs Act, six counts of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine.
A seven-count indictment returned on June 25 charges 17 defendants with operating a criminal enterprise engaged in murder-for-hire, drug trafficking, kidnappings, extortion, weapons trafficking and other offences in the United States and Canada.
Among those charged is Jaggu Bhagwanpuria (38), of Punjab, an imprisoned gangster and former associate of Bishnoi who allegedly founded his own transnational criminal syndicate, ‘Bhagwanpuriya gang’, in Punjab with members across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Garinder Deo (40), alias "Doctor", "Rocket" and "Ritz Carlton", of Vancouver, though not charged as a member of the Bhagwanpuria group, allegedly helped the syndicate by purchasing bulk quantities of cocaine and heroin for shipment from Southern California to the eastern United States.
Ravinder Singh Dhanda, 57, alias “Randy,” “Rolex,” and “John Wick,” of Vancouver, Canada, Jaskarn Baghri, 50, alias “Baba,” of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, Gurtej Singh Smagh, 43, alias “Simba,” of Creston, British Columbia, Canada, and eight other defendants are charged in an eight-count indictment returned June 23 alleging they transported, smuggled, and distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine each week from the U.S. into Canada.
If convicted, many of the defendants would face a mandatory minimum prison sentence between 10 years in federal prison and life imprisonment, and a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
The FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and United States Customs and Border Protection’s Buffalo Field Office are investigating these matters. RCMP is conducting a parallel investigation into South Asian organized crime.
