A senior Canadian law enforcement official has said there is no evidence linking Indian government officials to the US investigation into transnational organised crime networks….reports Asian Lite News Desk
A senior Canadian law enforcement official has said investigators have found no evidence linking Indian government officials to a US investigation that resulted in federal charges against gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and dozens of alleged members of three transnational organised crime groups.
The clarification came after US authorities unsealed three federal indictments charging 37 defendants with offences including racketeering, murder, extortion, kidnappings and drug trafficking. The indictments followed a years-long multinational investigation involving law enforcement agencies from the United States, Canada and Europe.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland made the remarks while responding to questions about whether the investigation had uncovered evidence supporting allegations made by former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that agents of the Indian government were connected to the June 2023 killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia.
Moreland said the investigation into Nijjar’s killing remains a separate criminal case before Canadian authorities.
“There’s current people in Canada that are facing charges on that, so I can’t comment in relation to that investigation,” Moreland said, referring to the separate Canadian criminal case.
She then distinguished the Nijjar investigation from the organised crime indictments announced by US authorities.
“In relation to this matter today, as stated in the press conference, there’s no evidence to suggest that through this organised crime investigation and the charges and the indictment laid forward, that Indian officials were charged or were involved in this investigation,” she said.
When asked whether any material contained in the newly unsealed indictments supported allegations against the Indian government, Moreland replied: “No.”
She added: “What I would add… is that as with any good arrest, there’s over 50 search warrants that were conducted today, so various intelligence and evidence will be collected through there, and devices and the investigation is ongoing. But I firmly state… that nothing has come out today to link the Indian government.”
The US indictments accuse Lawrence Bishnoi, alleged North American leader Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, and members of two other organised crime groups of operating international criminal networks allegedly involved in murder, extortion, kidnappings, narcotics trafficking and firearms offences across multiple countries.
According to the indictment, Bishnoi and Brar ordered the June 18, 2023, assassination of a man identified in court documents only as “H.S.N” in Surrey, British Columbia.
Moreland also said Indian authorities had cooperated with investigators throughout the multinational investigation.
“What I can say to you is in this investigation, as you noted from our US partners, that the Indian government was cooperating in this investigation. We work shoulder and shoulder with the FBI and other agencies to address this,” she said. “Through the course of this investigation, it would highlight that that’s where we’re striving for.”
The remarks came as authorities in the United States, Canada and Europe continue their coordinated efforts against alleged transnational organised crime networks. Moreland said the investigation remains ongoing, with evidence expected to be gathered through dozens of search warrants executed as part of the operation.
