The FBI placed Indian national Kamal on its Most Wanted list for his alleged involvement in the Lawrence Bishnoi Organised Crime Group. He is wanted on extortion charges in California as part of the US’s ‘Operation Hard Ball’ crackdown.
US Crackdown on India-Linked Crime Groups
The latest action comes amid an intensified US crackdown on India-linked transnational organised crime groups under Operation Hard Ball.Earlier, the FBI had placed Indian nationals Major Singh and Nitish Kaushal on its Most Wanted list over their alleged links to the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria Organised Crime Group.According to the FBI, the Bhagwanpuria group originated in Punjab, India, and operated in the Central District of California and elsewhere. The agency has alleged that the group was involved in murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, extortion, weapons trafficking, money laundering and human smuggling.On July 30, the FBI also placed Indian national Amritpal Singh on its Most Wanted list over his alleged involvement in the Ravinder Dhanda Organised Crime Group, a transnational network based in Vancouver, Canada.The FBI alleged that the Dhanda group trafficked substantial quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine for drug trafficking organisations operating across the United States, Canada and Mexico.Earlier on July 23, the FBI announced the arrest of Indian national Harmanveer Singh in Stockton, California, over his alleged involvement in drug trafficking operations linked to the Ravinder Dhanda gang.The arrest was part of Operation Hard Ball, a joint international crackdown targeting syndicates associated with Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Ravinder Dhanda.The US Department of Justice has charged 37 people in connection with “Operation Hard Ball”, while 24 individuals linked to the three transnational organised crime syndicates were arrested in a coordinated operation earlier this month, including 11 in California. (ANI)(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)