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An international law enforcement operation targeting India-based organized crime syndicates led to the arrest of 24 suspects across the United States, Canada, and Europe, the U.S. Department of Justice announced July 7.

The coordinated crackdown, dubbed Operation Hard Ball, resulted in charges against 37 defendants linked to three transnational criminal organizations accused of racketeering, targeted killings, extortion, drug trafficking, kidnappings, and other violent crimes. 

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The defendants include two alleged gang leaders who prosecutors say continued directing criminal enterprises while imprisoned in India. Authorities also seized approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, $40,000 in cash, and a dozen firearms during the years-long investigation.

Among those arrested were 13 defendants in the United States – including 11 in California, one in Indiana, and one in Georgia – along with three in Canada and one in Spain. Seven additional defendants were already in custody, while authorities are seeking 10 fugitives believed to be in the United States, India, and Europe. Authorities also executed 23 search warrants in the Sacramento area and 11 in the Los Angeles area.

"Transnational criminal gangs who spread fear, drugs, and violence will face the full force of justice and the weight of the federal government," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. "Working together, law enforcement in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia are determined to target and dismantle these criminal organizations wherever they operate. There is no safe harbor for these thugs."

Patrick Grandy, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said the coordinated operation struck "at the heart of three brutal transnational organizations" accused of terrorizing communities through violence in the United States and abroad.

The largest indictment targets the alleged Bishnoi criminal enterprise, led by imprisoned Punjab gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Prosecutors allege Bishnoi directed political assassinations, murders, extortion schemes, kidnappings, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and other crimes from prison using contraband communication devices. 

The indictment also names Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, as the organization's North American leader, and Rohit Godara as its European leader.

According to prosecutors, the Bishnoi enterprise used violence to cultivate fear, particularly among Indian diaspora communities, and exploited that fear to extort victims. Canadian authorities designated the Bishnoi enterprise as a terrorist entity in September 2025.

Federal prosecutors allege Bishnoi and Brar ordered the June 2023 assassination of a prominent Indian political and religious leader living in Surrey, British Columbia, after the victim left a Sikh temple. 

Prosecutors also allege the enterprise targeted religious, political, and community leaders, attempted to extort victims in Los Angeles and Thousand Oaks, California, including demanding a $5 million payment in late 2025 and early 2026, and financed its operations through international narcotics trafficking and theft of cocaine shipments from rival drug trafficking organizations.

A second federal indictment charges 17 defendants linked to the Bhagwanpuria criminal enterprise, which authorities allege operated a global network involved in murder-for-hire, kidnappings, weapons trafficking, narcotics distribution, and extortion across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. 

Prosecutors also allege members of the organization worked with corrupt law enforcement and government officials in India to facilitate extortion schemes and target perceived rivals through false criminal cases.

The third indictment accuses Ravinder Singh Dhanda and 10 others of operating an international drug trafficking network that allegedly transported hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine each week from Southern California into Canada using long-haul commercial trucks, including farm vehicles used to conceal narcotics.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the operation reflected the commitment of local, federal, and international law enforcement agencies to dismantling organized crime networks and improving public safety. 

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme said the coordinated effort disrupted criminal organizations that "used murder, cruelty and fear to extort and control people in both Canada and the United States," adding that authorities would continue pursuing transnational organized crime.

The investigation was led by the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with assistance from multiple U.S. and international law enforcement agencies. 

If convicted, many of the defendants face mandatory minimum federal prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment. The Justice Department noted that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Discover more at New India Abroad.