Federal prosecutors charge 37 defendants in India-based organized crime probe

Bishnoi gang allegedly ordered 2023 Nijjar assassination from prison

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced Tuesday that 24 suspects were arrested in the United States, Canada and Europe as part of a coordinated multi-country enforcement action against three India-based organized crime networks. The indictments, unsealed the same day, charge a total of 37 defendants with crimes including murder, extortion and drug trafficking.

Central to the case is the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, a prominent Sikh separatist leader who campaigned for an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan. Nijjar was shot dead in his vehicle by two masked gunmen outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, about 30 kilometers east of Vancouver.

Prosecutors charged Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, and Satinderjeet “Goldy Brar” Singh, 32, both of Punjab, India, with ordering Nijjar’s assassination — referred to in court documents by the initials “HSN.” Brar remains at large. Bishnoi has been incarcerated since 2015. Four Indian nationals were arrested and charged in 2024 over the killing and are awaiting trial. The Nijjar slaying sparked a major diplomatic dispute between Canada and India.

The investigation also uncovered an alleged extortion scheme targeting victims in California. Prosecutors said that Bishnoi, Singh and other defendants demanded a $5 million payment from one victim in December and January. Authorities accused the gang of targeting prominent religious and political leaders with violence and then seeking to extort members of the community.

As part of the probe, law enforcement seized approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, 1 kilogram of heroin, $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms, according to officials.

The operation involved the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and US Customs and Border Protection.

“Transnational criminal gangs who spread fear, drugs, and violence will face the full force of justice and the weight of the federal government,” First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “There is no safe harbor for these thugs.”

Canada designated the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity last year, a move that allows the federal government to seize property and freeze assets held by the group within the country.