US charges Bishnoi, Brar in Nijjar killing; coordinated crackdown announced

The United States on Tuesday charged jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his close aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar with orchestrating the June 2023 killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

According to a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles, Bishnoi and Brar ordered Nijjar's assassination outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 three years ago.

The charges come as law enforcement agencies from the United States, Canada and Europe announced a coordinated crackdown on three alleged India-based transnational organised crime groups.

Authorities arrested 24 people—11 of them in California—and charged them with a range of offences, including Nijjar's killing, racketeering, extortion, drug trafficking and targeted murders.

"Working together, law enforcement in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia are determined to target and dismantle these criminal organizations wherever they operate. There is no safe harbor for these thugs," First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said at a press conference in Los Angeles.

US authorities said the operation followed a years-long investigation into Indian crime syndicates allegedly involved in racketeering, contract killings, shootings, extortion and trafficking large quantities of narcotics across international borders, with a significant impact on the Indian diaspora.

In total, 37 defendants were charged across three indictments unsealed on Tuesday, including Bishnoi and another alleged crime boss who investigators said directed their criminal networks while imprisoned in India.

USD 50,000 bounty on Goldy Brar

The FBI also announced a reward of up to USD 50,000 for information leading to the arrest of Goldy Brar, who investigators described as the alleged head of the Lawrence Bishnoi organised crime group in North America.

In a post on X, the FBI said Brar is wanted for his alleged involvement in violent crimes across Southern California, the United States and Canada.

"The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of Satinderjeet Singh, wanted for his alleged involvement in the Lawrence Bishnoi Organized Crime Group which is allegedly engaged in a variety of violent acts in Southern California, and across the United States and Canada," the federal agency said.

FBI said that Brar has ties to Sacramento and Fresno in California, as well as Canada, India and Mexico.

Among those arrested, 13 were taken into custody in the United States—11 in California, one in Indiana and one in Georgia.

Three were arrested in Canada and one in Spain, while seven others were already in custody.

Authorities are still searching for 10 fugitives—seven believed to be in the United States, two in India and one in Europe.

Bishnoi is currently lodged in jail in India, while Goldy Brar remains at large.

"Today's coordinated operation strikes at the heart of three brutal transnational organizations that have terrorised families, exploited communities, and stolen lives through ruthless acts of violence in the US and abroad," said Patrick Grandy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme said the operation disrupted organised criminal networks that "used murder, cruelty and fear to extort and control people in both Canada and the United States."

"We won't pause for long to reflect on the work it took to get this job done—we'll keep doing what we do best to preserve public safety in Canada, in the United States, and around the world," he said.