Indian national Amritpal Singh is wanted by the FBI over alleged cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking linked to Vancouver-based Ravinder Dhanda organised crime network….reports India Daily News Desk
An Indian national, Amritpal Singh, has been placed on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted list over his alleged involvement in an international drug trafficking network operating across North America, according to the FBI.
The bureau said Singh is wanted for his alleged role in the Ravinder Dhanda organised crime group, described as a transnational criminal network based in Vancouver, Canada. According to the FBI, the group was involved in trafficking substantial quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine for drug trafficking organisations operating across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Singh is accused of participating in a conspiracy to traffic cocaine and methamphetamine as part of the organised crime network. A federal arrest warrant was issued against him by a court in Los Angeles on June 23.
His present whereabouts have not been disclosed by authorities.
The FBI identified Singh as an Indian national born on January 7, 1996, and released a photograph taken in 2024 in an effort to assist with his identification. The public has been urged to provide information about his location to law enforcement.
The investigation involving Singh is being led by the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and forms part of Operation Hardball, a broader investigation targeting Indian transnational organised crime groups accused of involvement in drug trafficking and other serious offences.
Earlier this month, the US Justice Department announced that law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada and Europe had arrested 24 defendants linked to three India-based transnational organised crime groups. The wider investigation resulted in 37 defendants being charged across three indictments.
Of those arrested in the United States, 11 were taken into custody in California, while others were arrested in Indiana and Georgia. Three defendants were arrested in Canada and one in Spain, while seven others were already in custody before the operation. Authorities were also seeking 10 fugitives, including seven in the United States, two in India and one in Europe.
The Justice Department said Operation Hardball was the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates accused of engaging in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, international drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
As part of the investigation, authorities said they had seized approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, $40,000 in cash and 12 firearms. Investigators also executed 23 search warrants in the Sacramento area and 11 in the Los Angeles area.
The charges involving the Ravinder Dhanda organisation are set out in a federal indictment returned on June 23. Ravinder Singh Dhanda, 57, of Vancouver, along with Jaskarn Baghri, Gurtej Singh Smagh and eight other defendants, are accused of transporting, smuggling and distributing hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine each week from the United States into Canada.
According to the indictment, Dhanda operated a drug distribution network that provided international smuggling services for bulk quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine to drug trafficking organisations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The network allegedly negotiated transportation rates and logistics with those organisations and subcontracted the storage and transportation of drugs.
The indictment alleges that narcotics were concealed and transported using long-haul semi-trucks from the greater Los Angeles area to the US-Canada border. In some cases, farm trucks were allegedly used to conceal the drugs during transportation.
The federal indictment specifically alleges the shipment of 430.1 kilograms of cocaine between July 2023 and November 2024. The defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to export controlled substances, operating a continuing criminal enterprise and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
The Justice Department also said the wider Operation Hardball investigation involved the alleged activities of two other transnational criminal organisations. One indictment concerns the alleged enterprise led by Lawrence Bishnoi, which authorities accuse of involvement in racketeering, extortion, violence and drug trafficking. Another concerns the organisation associated with Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, which is accused of crimes including murder-for-hire, drug trafficking, kidnappings, extortion and weapons trafficking.
Authorities said an indictment is an allegation and that all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
The investigations involve the FBI, Los Angeles Police Department, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and US Customs and Border Protection, with assistance from several other US and international law enforcement agencies.
