Federal brokers crushed the California arm of a vicious transnational organized crime syndicate in sequence of beautiful raids Tuesday that noticed the arrest of not less than a dozen accused criminals within the Golden State — and dozens extra elsewhere.
Los Angeles federal brokers led the beautiful world takedown of the India-based Bishnoi Gang, a fearsome world mob blamed for extortion, drug dealing and the assassination of political figures, industrialists, actors and musicians in North America and India.
As of seven a.m., brokers had carried out not less than 50 raids within the US, Canada and Europe, taking not less than two dozen suspects into custody.
As a part of the investigation, legislation seized greater than 2,200 kilos of cocaine and heroin, 40,000 money and a dozen firearms.
A minimum of 5 defendants had been arrested within the Bay Space and not less than seven had been arrested in LA.
“The defendants charged in immediately’s indictment are alleged to have engaged in a few of the most violent and barbaric actions we’ve seen,” stated high LA prosecutor Invoice Esayli.
“There will probably be zero tolerance for violent gangs in our communities, particularly these from overseas nations who will not be legally current in our nation,” he added.
The Bishnoi is designated as a terrorist group by the Canadian authorities and is reported to have infiltrated Cricket Canada to steer match-fixing and corruption inside the group.
“Operation Laborious Ball” is the results of a years-long federal investigation into three Indian crime syndicates led by the Bishnoi that have interaction in racketeering, focused killings, shootings, extortion, large-scale drug trafficking and different crimes.
The mysterious and murderous gang is led by 33-year-old Lawrence Bishnoi, Punjab, India, a gangster lengthy imprisoned in India, who runs the operation from his jail cell.
Bishnoi is affiliated an eco-religious sect based within the fifteenth century in Rajasthan, and so they worship an Indian antelope known as the Blackbuck, which they take into account to be a reincarnation of their non secular guru.
He delegates management of his gang to trusted lieutenants and regional leaders of the felony enterprise to conduct “focused killings, shootings, kidnappings, maimings, assaults, extortions, and drug trafficking,” court docket papers cost.
Among the many crimes alleged within the Bishnoi indictment is the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a distinguished political and non secular chief from India who was residing in Canada on the time of his killing in 2023.
The felony boss is accused of ordering two gunmen to shoot and Nijjar, 45, as he left a Sikh temple in British Columbia.
The Bishnoi gang routinely focused distinguished non secular, social, and political leaders with violence, in keeping with court docket papers, and used these high-profile acts to terrorize and extort members of the neighborhood.
In November 2023, Bishnoi claimed accountability for a separate capturing that occurred on the Vancouver, Canada residence of distinguished Indian actor and singer Gippy Grewal, and warned within the Punjabi language in a Fb put up, “nobody can prevent from us.”
Members of the Bishnoi gang extorted victims via threats of violence, prosecutors cost, demanding in January of this 12 months {that a} rich Thousand Oaks resident make a $5 million fee.
The gang helped fund its actions via worldwide drug trafficking and stealing drug shipments from rival gangs, delivery cocaine in long-haul semi-trucks from the U.S. to Canada.
From March 2024 to July 2025, the Bishnoi stole greater than 1,100 kilos of cocaine from rival drug trafficking gangs in LA, court docket papers state.
The indictment fees Bishnoi and eight different defendants with racketeering, extortion and dealing cocaine and methamphetamine.
The feds on Tuesday additionally focused members of the Bhagwanpuria gang based by Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, 38, a gangster imprisoned in India, who’s an associate-turned-rival of Bishnoi, and based his personal felony enterprise in India’s Punjab state.
The Bhagwanpuria gang has greater than 1,000 members and associates worldwide, and greater than 100 members and associates within the US. Prosecutors say the gang engaged in murder-for-hire, drug trafficking, kidnappings, extortions, and weapons trafficking.
Members of the Bhagwanpuria gang in Stockton, California and elsewhere extorted victims and reaped money via drug trafficking LA and the Inland Empire, in addition to via unlawful firearms dealing, court docket papers cost.
The federal indictment additionally charged British Columbia resident Ravinder Singh Dhanda, 57, with smuggling lots of of kilos of cocaine and methamphetamine every week from the US into Canada.
Dhanda’s gang used semi vans and farming vans to maneuver the medicine from Los Angeles, West Covina, Ontario, Fontana, and Perris to the US-Canada border, court docket papers say.
The FBI, LAPD and Royal Canadian Mounted Police carried out the arrests Tuesday related to the case.
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