U.S. prosecutors have charged imprisoned Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi with ordering the June 2023 killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., as part of a broader international crackdown on India-based transnational organized crime networks.
The investigation, known as Operation Hard Ball, was conducted by the RCMP, the FBI and other international law enforcement partners. Authorities announced charges against individuals alleged to be linked to three India-based organized crime networks led by Lawrence Bishnoi, Ravinder Dhanda and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria.
“These groups have been engaged in extortions, drug trafficking, kidnapping and widespread violence — namely the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar — in Canada and the United States,” RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said in a July 7 release.
Nijjar was a prominent member of the Lower Mainland’s Sikh community and supporter of the Khalistan separatist movement, which advocates for an independent Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab region.
He was shot and killed outside Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey on June 18, 2023, in what investigators have described as a targeted killing.
37 Individuals Charged
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a July 7 release that 37 defendants were charged in three federal indictments unsealed in Los Angeles as a result of Operation Hard Ball. Twenty-four defendants were arrested or were already in custody in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Authorities said they are still searching for 10 fugitives: seven in the United States, two in India and one in Europe.
According to the DOJ, all of the defendants are linked to three India-based transnational organized crime groups alleged to have carried out targeted assassinations, shootings, extortions, drug trafficking and racketeering. The department said members of the Indian diaspora have been particularly affected by the groups’ activities.
One indictment charges Lawrence Bishnoi with participating in a transnational criminal enterprise. Bishnoi, 33, is currently imprisoned in India, where U.S. prosecutors allege he continued to direct the Bishnoi Gang from behind bars.
The Bishnoi Gang is an India-based criminal organization that Canada designated as a terrorist entity in 2025, citing its alleged involvement in murder, shootings, arson, extortion and intimidation.
Bishnoi and Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, are accused of ordering the assassination of “H.S.N.,” whom the RCMP has identified as Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Further Charges
A second indictment charges 17 defendants linked to the Bhagwanpuria group, who are accused of involvement in contract killings, drug trafficking, kidnappings, extortion, weapons smuggling, and other crimes.
The DOJ said the Bhagwanpuria group operates across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and is estimated to have more than 1,000 members and associates worldwide.
A third indictment charges Ravinder Singh Dhanda, 57, also known as “Randy,” “Rolex” and “John Wick,” of Vancouver, along with Jaskarn Baghri, 50, of Surrey; Gurtej Singh Smagh, 43, of Creston, B.C.; and eight other defendants.
According to U.S. prosecutors, members of the group transported, smuggled and distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine each week from the United States into Canada.
The RCMP said an application will be filed to seek the extradition of the three British Columbians to the United States.
U.S. officials said the operation resulted in the seizure of approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, US$40,000 in cash and about a dozen firearms after 23 search warrants were executed in Los Angeles and the Sacramento area.
Duheme described Operation Hard Ball as “a big moment for the RCMP and for public safety in Canada, the United States and around the world,” saying the crackdown is aimed at ending the groups’ “ability to terrorize and extort people.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in the DOJ statement that the case demonstrates that “there is no safe harbor for these thugs,” adding that transnational criminals “will face the full force of justice and the weight of the federal government.”
The DOJ emphasized that an indictment is only an allegation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
