Inside 'Operation Hard Ball': US Indicts Lawrence Bishnoi; FBI Adds Goldy Brar To Most Wanted List, Offers $50,000 Reward | Video

· Free Press Journal

Mumbai: In a massive crackdown on India-linked transnational organized crime,  United States (US) authorities filed a sweeping federal indictment against jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, his North American lieutenant Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar rival gangster Jagdeep Singh alias Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, and several members of their international syndicates. The racketeering charges, filed under Operation Hard Ball, mark the first time US federal prosecutors have formally criminally charged these rival Indian syndicates for operating global criminal enterprises on American soil. 

The indictment, filed in the United States District Court in Los Angeles under Operation Hard Ball, alleges that the Bishnoi and Bhagwanpuria syndicates,operating transnational criminal enterprises involved in murder, extortion, narcotics trafficking, firearms offences and racketeering across India,US, Canada and parts of Europe. US prosecutors alleged that the syndicate functioned as organised criminal networks with an international footprint, using violence, intimidation and cross-border operatives to expand their criminal influence and generate illicit proceeds through organised criminal activity.

In a parallel development, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has added Goldy Brar to its Most Wanted fugitives list and announced a reward of up to USD 50,000 for information leading to his arrest. According to unsealed court records, a federal arrest warrant against Brar was issued on July 1. The FBI described him as the North American leader of the  Bishnoi organised crime syndicate and accused him of directing the syndicate's operations across the continent.

The federal indictment contains one of its most consequential allegations, claiming that  Bishnoi alongside Goldy Brar ordered the targeted assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.While court records mask the victim under the initials "H.S.N.", the exact location, timing, and details directly align with Nijjar's high-profile murder. Crucially, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment categorizes the assassination strictly as a transnational criminal enterprise operation used by the Bishnoi syndicate to terrorize the wealthy Indian diaspora and bolster multi-million-dollar WhatsApp extortion rackets targeting businessmen in California

Unlike previous political narratives, the US federal indictment makes no allegation of Indian government involvement or awareness in the killing, attributing the hit entirely to the Bishnoi syndicate’s extortion and territory expansion strategy. 

The charges stem from Operation Hard Ball, a multi-year investigation conducted by US authorities in coordination with law enforcement agencies in Canada and Europe. On Tuesday, investigators executed more than 50 search warrants and carried out coordinated enforcement operations across California, Indiana, Georgia, Canada and Spain, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ). 

The operation resulted in three federal indictments against 37 defendants allegedly linked to the Bishnoi, Bhagwanpuria and Ravinder Singh Dhanda criminal networks. Authorities arrested 24 accused during the coordinated crackdown, including 13 in the US, three in Canada and one in Spain, while seven others were already in custody. Bishnoi, Brar and Rohit Godara have been declared fugitives.

The case represents one of the most significant US crackdowns on the Bishnoi syndicate, with prosecutors alleging that the jailed gangster directed a global criminal enterprise from prison in India through associates operating across North America, Europe and India.

 According to the principal indictment, Bishnoi continued to direct the criminal enterprise from prison in India using smuggled mobile phones and encrypted communication platforms. Prosecutors alleged that he supervised political assassinations, contract killings, shootings, kidnappings, extortion rackets, narcotics trafficking and human smuggling through trusted associates operating in India, Canada, the US and Europe. 

The indictment alleges that the syndicate relied on an international network of operatives to execute violent crimes, intimidate rivals, launder illicit proceeds and expand its influence across multiple jurisdictions, underscoring what prosecutors described as the organisation's global reach.

Apart from extortion and contract killings, prosecutors alleged that the syndicate financed its operations through international cocaine trafficking and by stealing narcotics consignments from rival drug trafficking organisations.Prosecutors alleged that the syndicate oversaw the transportation of 49 kg of cocaine intercepted in California in 2024 and was involved in stealing nearly 520 kg of cocaine from rival organisations in the Los Angeles region between 2024 and 2025.

The indictment also cites a November 2023 shooting outside the Vancouver residence of a prominent Indian actor and singer. According to prosecutors, the Bishnoi syndicate claimed responsibility for the attack in a Punjabi-language Facebook post warning that "no one can save you from us", using the incident to reinforce its reputation for violence and intimidation.

The indictment charges Bishnoi, Brar, Godara and six other accused with one count of racketeering conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion under the Hobbs Act, six counts of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, and one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including cocaine and methamphetamine.  

While Brar's whereabouts remain unknown, Bishnoi has been lodged in prisons in India since 2015. His younger brother, Anmol Bishnoi, was arrested in California in November 2024 for illegally entering the US and was deported to India in November 2025. He is facing multiple criminal cases, including those related to the murders of NCP leader Baba Siddique and Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.

The indictment represents one of the most significant US crackdowns on the Bishnoi organisation to date, with prosecutors alleging that the jailed gangster ran a transnational criminal enterprise spanning India, North America and Europe through a network of trusted associates despite remaining behind bars.  

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