Operation Hard Ball: 24 Arrested in Global FBI Strike Against Lawrence Bishnoi Gang | Today’s news
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced that a total of 24 people have been arrested in the US, Canada and Europe in a coordinated international operation targeting three organized crime groups based in India, including the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles said the arrests were the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates involved in targeted killings, extortion and drug trafficking around the world.
Bishnoi, Goldy Brar named in Nijjar murder
According to a federal indictment in Los Angeles unsealed on Tuesday, Bishnoi, who was jailed in India, and his close associate Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, were accused of masterminding the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
Read also | Have more than 1,000 gunmen: Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s letter to Canadian police, report says
A total of 37 defendants were charged in the three indictments that were unsealed Tuesday.
“Transnational criminal gangs that spread fear, drugs and violence will face the full force of justice and the weight of the federal government,” First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement.
According to the indictment, Bishnoi and Brar ordered the shooting of Nijjar on June 18, 2023 outside a Sikh temple in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey, British Columbia.
The prosecution does not mention the Indian government
Then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed there were credible allegations linking Indian government agents to the murder. However, the US indictment charging Bishnoi and Singh does not allege Indian government involvement in the killings.
Neither First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli nor any other official at a news conference in Los Angeles said the Indian government was involved in or aware of the killing.
Lawrence Bishnoi – From Student Politician to Gang Leader
The indictment describes Lawrence Bishnoi as a long-imprisoned gangster in India who was a self-proclaimed university student leader before tiring of politics and turning himself and his followers to crime.
“Bishnoi projected his public image 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 for his crime syndicate in India, the United States and elsewhere,” it said.
What the prosecution said about the Bishnoi gang
“Enterprise has routinely targeted prominent religious, social and political leaders with violence and used these high-profile acts to terrorize and blackmail community members. For example, in November 2023, Bishnoi claimed responsibility for a separate shooting that occurred in Vancouver, Canada, the home of a prominent Indian actor and singer,” he said in a Punjabi-language Facebook post, “one can save save you can post.”
the Lawrence Bishnoi gang
While Goldy Brar’s exact whereabouts are officially unknown, Lawrence Bishnoi has been behind bars in India since 2015. His younger brother, Anmol Bishnoi, who was arrested in California in November 2024 for illegally entering the US.
Read also | Anmol Bishnoi, wanted in Baba Siddiqui murder case, deported from US
The younger Bishnoi was deported to India in November 2025, where he faces charges in several high-profile cases, including the murders of NCP leader Baba Siddique and singer Sidhu Moosewal.
Two more Indian gangsters indicted
Federal prosecutors also filed charges against gangsters Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Ravinder Singh Dhanda in separate cases.
According to the indictment, “Dhanda operated a drug distribution network that provided international smuggling services for large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine to Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) in the US, Canada and Mexico,” according to a statement issued by the US Attorney’s Office.
“The Bhagwanpuria gang operates as a multinational criminal syndicate headquartered in India with members in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand,” they added.
Cocaine and firearms were seized as part of Operation Hard Ball, officials said.
