(The Center Square) – An international crackdown on India-based organized crime gangs has resulted in 24 arrests in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Eleven of the defendants are in California.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced the arrests Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. The arrests were conducted as part of Operation Hard Ball. The operation involved the FBI’s Los Angeles field office and the Los Angeles Police Department.
Authorities said the criminal syndicates are charged with racketeering, murders, shootings, extortion and trafficking narcotics across international borders.
“Transnational criminal gangs who spread fear, drugs, and violence will face the full force of justice and the weight of the federal government,” said Essayli, who discussed the arrests during a televised press conference. Essayli oversees the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Essayli said investigators believe the syndicates are linked to major international incidents, including the 2023 assassination of a prominent Indian political and religious figure in Canada.
At least two of the defendants managed to run these global criminal operations while imprisoned in India, Essayli said.
Meanwhile, federal, state and local law enforcement seized 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, 1 kilogram of heroin, 12 firearms and $40,000 in cash while executing dozens of search warrants across parts of California, primarily Sacramento and Los Angeles, according to Essayli’s office.
One person was arrested in Indiana, along with one other person in Georgia. Three people were arrested in Canada, and one person was arrested in Spain.
Seven other people were already in custody, and another seven remain fugitives. There is a total of 37 defendants indicted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
Essayli said law enforcement is “determined” to target these syndicates.
This is a developing story.
