The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Wednesday, August 19, issued a “Wanted” notice for Indian national Major Singh over his alleged involvement in a transnational criminal organisation and unlicensed firearms dealing. According to the FBI, Singh was allegedly involved with the “Jaggu Bhagwanpuria Organised Crime Group” and is accused of engaging in “racketeering-influenced and corrupt organisations conspiracy; conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license; conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; and distribution of controlled substances.”
The FBI statement further noted that the group originated in the Punjab state of India and operated in the Central District of California and elsewhere.
Who Is Major Singh?
Major Singh is an Indian national whom US authorities have identified as an alleged associate of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria Organised Crime Group (OCG). He is 29 years old and is described as a key operative of the gang.
The legal noose around Singh tightened on June 25 this year, when a federal arrest warrant was issued for him in the United States District Court, Central District of California, Los Angeles, after he was charged with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Conspiracy and Conspiracy to Engage in the Business of Dealing in Firearms Without a License.
According to the FBI, he has black hair and black eyes, stands 5 feet 8 inches tall, and weighs approximately 182 pounds. He has used July 20, 1997, as his date of birth. The group is alleged by US authorities to have been involved in activities including drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, and other violent crimes.
Part Of A Wider Crackdown On Punjab-Linked Gangs
Earlier in July, the FBI had placed Nitish Kaushal, an alleged operative of an India-linked criminal syndicate, on its most wanted list. He too is described as an associate of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria OCG, as part of an intensified American crackdown on global syndicates originating from India. Harmanveer Singh has also figured on the most wanted list, for his alleged role in a transnational criminal organisation accused of trafficking controlled substances across North America.
According to US investigators, Kaushal was being sought for his suspected ties to the Bhagwanpuria OCG, which authorities describe as a transnational criminal organisation that originated in Punjab, India, and operated in the Central District of California and elsewhere. The FBI has stated that the network is heavily involved in “murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, extortion, weapons trafficking, money laundering, and human smuggling.”
In June, jailed Punjab gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria were among 37 defendants named in a sweeping US-led crackdown on transnational organised crime networks, in an operation called Hard Ball. The FBI and Canada’s RCMP jointly targeted the Ravinder Dhanda, Bishnoi, and Bhagwanpuria gangs under the operation, dismantling leadership structures and arresting multiple members since June 23, with investigators seizing roughly 1,000 kg of cocaine, 1 kilogram of heroin, firearms and cash; several suspects remain fugitives. In a joint operation earlier this month, law enforcement agencies across the US, Canada and Europe arrested 24 people linked to the three groups, of whom 11 were taken into custody in California.
The latest crackdown comes as part of the Trump administration’s coordinated enforcement measures against alleged members and associates of the three organised crime groups.