In a major milestone for a multi-year international probe into transnational Indian organized crime networks, U.S. federal prosecutors have announced sweeping charges against 37 defendants linked to three India-based criminal syndicates, including the notorious Bishnoi gang. Among the most high-profile allegations is that the syndicate orchestrated the 2023 assassination of prominent Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia, Canada.
Law enforcement agencies across three continents have already taken 24 suspects into custody so far, with arrests carried out across the United States, Canada, and Europe. The indictments, which were unsealed publicly on Tuesday, detail a sprawling pattern of criminal activity that stretches across the globe: targeted assassinations of political and religious figures, large-scale drug trafficking, and extortion rings targeting diaspora communities in North America.
Federal prosecutors based in Los Angeles leveled direct assassination charges against two key leaders of the syndicate: 33-year-old Lawrence Bishnoi and 32-year-old Satinderjeet “Goldy Brar” Singh, both natives of Punjab, India. Bishnoi has already been incarcerated in India since 2015, but prosecutors allege he continued to direct the gang’s violent criminal operations from behind bars. Brar remains at large as of Tuesday’s announcement.
Nijjar, a 45-year-old prominent advocate for an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan, was gunned down by two masked attackers in June 2023 as he sat in his vehicle in the crowded parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, B.C. The city lies roughly 30 kilometers east of Vancouver. The killing already sparked a major diplomatic crisis between Canada and India in 2024, when four Indian nationals were arrested and charged in connection with the assassination. Those four defendants are currently awaiting trial. Canada officially designated the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity last year, granting authorities power to seize the group’s assets and freeze its financial holdings within the country.
Beyond the Nijjar assassination, Tuesday’s unsealed indictments lay out additional alleged criminal activity tied to the gang on U.S. soil. Prosecutors claim Bishnoi, Brar, and their co-conspirators ran an extortion racket targeting community members in California. In one case from late 2024 and early 2025, the gang demanded a $5 million ransom payment from a California victim, according to court documents.
As part of the ongoing investigation, law enforcement has already seized a large cache of contraband: approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, 1 kilogram of heroin, $40,000 in untraceable cash, and 12 firearms.
First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli reaffirmed the U.S. government’s commitment to dismantling the transnational networks in a public statement Tuesday. “Transnational criminal gangs who spread fear, drugs, and violence will face the full force of justice and the weight of the federal government,” Essayli said. “There is no safe harbor for these thugs.”
The multi-year investigation was a collaborative effort between the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with cross-border coordination to target the syndicate’s operations across North America and Europe.