U.S. indicts Bishnoi gang leaders and others in B.C. for trafficking, violence

Handout photo of Garinder Deo from the Vancouver Police Department in 2021. Photo by Vancouver Police Department

Article content

Several B.C. gangsters are among 24 arrested and charged with acts of violence and drug trafficking after a sweeping U.S. investigation targeting India’s Bishnoi gang and two other transnational crime groups.

Article content

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the charges on Tuesday, including against two Bishnoi gang members accused of being behind the June 18, 2023, murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside Surrey’s Guru Nank Gurdwara.

Article content

Article content

Article content

“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,” the Justice Department said in a news release.

Article content

Article content

Despite being imprisoned in India for years, Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, has “presided over a sweeping criminal enterprise that spanned multiple continents,” the news release said.

Article content

“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.”

Article content

Bishnoi delegated lieutenants as regional leaders — including Satinderjeet Singh, known as Goldy Brar. Brar and the European leader Rohit 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.”

Article content

Article content

Bishnoi and Brar are charged with ordering Nijjar’s assassination, the indictment, sworn in California, said, noting that Bishnoi had also claimed responsibility for a separate shooting that occurred at the Vancouver residence of a prominent Indian actor and singer.

Article content

Article content

“Bishnoi, Brar, Godara, and others extorted victims via WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging applications by threatening violence against the victims or the victims’ families,” the indictment said.

Article content

As well, the gang “helped fund its activities through international drug trafficking and stealing drug shipments from rival gangs.”

Article content

The other two transnational crime groups targeted are identified as the Bhagwanpuria gang, led by Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, of Punjab, and the Dhanda group, headed by Vancouver resident Ravinder Singh Dhanda.

Article content

Like Bishnoi, Bhagwanpuria is in prison in India but still allegedly runs a “syndicate headquartered in India with members across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand,” the indictment said.

Article content

The seven-count U.S. indictment against the Bhagwanpuria gang includes charges of 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.