(Extracts from Justice Department Press Release)
Tuesday, July 7, 2026. U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California
Today’s law enforcement action – “Operation Hard Ball” – is the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates that engage in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, the trafficking of bulk quantities of narcotics across international borders, and other crimes around the world whose impact is especially felt in the Indian diaspora.
In total, 37 defendants – including two defendants who ran their global criminal syndicates while imprisoned in India – are charged across three indictments unsealed today. Those arrested in the United States – 11 in California, one in Indiana, and one in Georgia – are expected to make their initial appearances today in federal court.
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Three defendants have been arrested in Canada, one defendant was arrested in Spain, and seven defendants already were in custody prior to today’s law enforcement operation.
Law enforcement is looking for 10 fugitives – seven in the United States, two in India, and one in Europe.
As part of this investigation, law enforcement has seized approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine and 1 kilogram of heroin along with $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms. A total of 23 search warrants have been executed in the Sacramento area and 11 warrants have been executed in the Los Angeles area.
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United States v. Bishnoi, et al.
Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, of Punjab, India, a gangster long imprisoned in India, was a self-styled university student leader before tiring of politics and turning himself and his followers to crime, according to a nine-count indictment that a federal grand jury returned on July 1.
In public, Bishnoi projected an image of himself as a “patriot,” “nationalist,” and deeply religious individual through social media posts and interviews with news organizations and used this public image to recruit members and associates to his crime syndicate in India, the United States, and elsewhere.
In private, Bishnoi presided over a sweeping criminal enterprise that spanned multiple continents. Using contraband cellphones and other voice-over internet protocol devices smuggled into his jail cell, Bishnoi personally directed political assassinations, murders, shootings, extortions, kidnappings, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and other crimes committed by members and associates of the Bishnoi enterprise worldwide.
The Canadian government in September 2025 designated the Bishnoi enterprise as a terrorist entity.
To help manage the enterprise’s day-to-day operations, Bishnoi delegated control to trusted lieutenants and regional leaders of the enterprise. These lieutenants and regional leaders included Satinderjeet Singh, 32, a.k.a. “Goldy Brar”, of Punjab, India, the North American leader of the Bishnoi enterprise, Rohit Godara, 37, of Rajasthan, India, the European leader of the Bishnoi enterprise, and Sukhraj Singh Kang, 58, of Punjab, India. According to the indictment, both Brar and Godara effectively spoke for Bishnoi and helped direct the actions of members and associates of the Bishnoi enterprise worldwide, including acts of violence committed by the gang’s members and associates in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere.
This criminal gang engaged in violent activity in each country in which it operated, including the United States, and used violence to cultivate a climate of fear, in particular in India and among Indian diaspora communities worldwide. The gang exploited this fear to extort its victims, hyping their violence and criminality through online videos and internet posts.
Among the crimes alleged in the indictment is the assassination of a prominent political and religious leader – identified in court documents as “H.S.N.” – from India’s Punjab state and who was living in Canada at the time of his death. Bishnoi and Brar are charged with ordering this assassination, which occurred when two gunmen shot and killed H.S.N. as he left a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023.
According to the indictment, the enterprise routinely targeted prominent religious, social, and political leaders with violence, and used these high-profile acts to terrorize and extort members of the community. For instance, in November 2023, Bishnoi claimed responsibility for a separate shooting that occurred at the Vancouver, Canada residence of a prominent Indian actor and singer, and warned in the Punjabi language in a Facebook post, “no one can save you from us.”
Bishnoi, Brar, Godara, and others extorted victims via WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging applications by threatening violence against the victims or the victims’ families. For example, Bishnoi, Brar, Godara, and other defendants attempted to extort victims in Los Angeles and Thousand Oaks, demanding in December 2025 and January 2026 that the latter victim make a $5 million payment.
In addition to these extortion schemes, the Bishnoi enterprise helped fund its activities through international drug trafficking and stealing drug shipments from rival gangs. For example, in November 2024, Bishnoi and Brar oversaw the transportation of 49 kilograms (108 pounds) of cocaine that was intercepted in Redlands and was intended for shipment via long-haul semi-trucks from the U.S. to Canada.
From March 2024 to July 2025, the Bishnoi enterprise stole a total of approximately 520 kilograms (1,146.4 pounds) of cocaine in the greater Los Angeles area from rival drug trafficking gangs.
The indictment charges Bishnoi, Brar, Godara, and six other defendants with one count of racketeering conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion (Hobbs Act), six counts of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, and one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, namely cocaine and methamphetamine.
United States v. Bhagwanpuria, et al.
A seven-count federal grand jury indictment returned June 25 charges 17 defendants with operating a criminal enterprise that engaged in murder-for-hire, drug trafficking, kidnappings, extortions, weapons trafficking, and other crimes around the world, including in the United States and Canada.
Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, 38, of Punjab, India, a gangster imprisoned in India, is an associate-turned-rival of Bishnoi, and founded his own criminal enterprise in India’s Punjab state.
The Bhagwanpuria gang operates as a transnational criminal syndicate headquartered in India with members across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. This group includes more than 1,000 members and associates worldwide, and more than 100 members and associates in the United States.
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United States v. Dhanda, et al.
Ravinder Singh Dhanda, 57, a.k.a. “Randy,” “Rolex,” and “John Wick,” of Vancouver, Canada, Jaskarn Baghri, 50, a.k.a. “Baba,” of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, Gurtej Singh Smagh, 43, a.k.a. “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 Canda.
According to the indictment, Dhanda operated a drug distribution network that provided international smuggling services for bulk quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine to drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He negotiated transportation rates and logistics with these DTOs and subcontracted the storage and transportation of these drugs.
The cocaine and methamphetamine were concealed and transported on long-haul semi-trucks from the greater Los Angeles area – including Los Angeles, West Covina, Ontario, Fontana, and Perris – to the U.S.-Canada border. Sometimes, farm trucks from working farms were used to hide the narcotics en route to Canada.
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An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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.