The Federal Bureau of Investigation has detained Indian national Harmanveer Singh for his suspected involvement in a cross-border drug trafficking operation connected to a Canada-based crime syndicate headed by Ravinder Dhanda. Authorities took Singh into custody in Stockton, California, on Tuesday through the California Highway Patrol, according to an FBI statement issued Wednesday. The detention forms part of Operation Hard Ball, a multinational effort against organized crime networks associated with Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Ravinder Dhanda. The FBI alleges Singh participated in a transnational group charged with conspiring to distribute controlled substances and to export them. The Ravinder Dhanda group, operating from Vancouver, is accused of moving large amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine to organizations active in the United States, Canada and Mexico. A federal court in Los Angeles issued an arrest warrant for Singh on June 23, 2026, citing charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances with intent, conspiracy to export such substances, and possession with intent to distribute. Earlier this month, agencies from the United States, Canada and Europe detained 24 individuals, including 11 in California, during coordinated actions against three India-linked transnational crime groups. The Department of Justice has charged 37 people overall under Operation Hard Ball. The wider effort across North America and Europe produced three federal indictments, 24 arrests and actions against additional syndicates. In a related move, agents arrested 26-year-old Indian national Nitish Kaushal in Vermont while he reportedly tried to enter Canada. Kaushal is linked to the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria group. His detention followed the release of a wanted notice two days earlier. U.S. authorities are offering up to $50,000 for information leading to the capture of Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, identified as the North American leader of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Brar and Bishnoi are accused of directing international criminal activities, including the alleged ordering of the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
