US unseals indictments in cross-border crime probe linked to Nijjar killing
The United States has unsealed indictments charging 37 people in a cross-border organised-crime investigation that prosecutors say includes allegations tied to the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. The case is part of Operation Hard Ball, a years-long federal probe into India-based transnational criminal groups. Authorities say the charges span crimes including extortion, drug trafficking, kidnapping and shootings.
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According to the US Department of Justice, law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada and Europe have arrested 24 defendants connected to three India-based organised-crime groups. Eleven of those arrests were made in California, while three defendants were arrested in Canada. Prosecutors also said 11 people remain fugitives across the United States, India and Europe.
The indictment names Lawrence Bishnoi, the imprisoned leader of the Bishnoi gang, among those charged in connection with the alleged assassination of Nijjar in British Columbia three years ago. The charges are part of what officials described as a wider crackdown on criminal networks accused of racketeering, targeted killings, shootings and trafficking large quantities of narcotics across international borders. The investigation is said to have focused on criminal activity affecting communities around the world, particularly within the Indian diaspora.
The case matters because it links a high-profile killing in Canada to a broader international law-enforcement effort involving multiple jurisdictions. It also highlights the reach of transnational criminal groups that prosecutors say operate across North America, Europe and India. The unsealing of the indictments suggests investigators are trying to disrupt not only individual suspects but also the wider networks and financing behind them.
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The Bishnoi gang has been under increasing scrutiny in recent years, and the Canadian government designated it as a terrorist entity in September 2025. That designation reflects growing concern among authorities about the group's alleged role in violent crime and intimidation beyond India. The latest US action adds a new legal dimension to a case that has already drawn attention in Canada and elsewhere because of the alleged political and religious significance of Nijjar's killing.
It remains unclear how many of the charged defendants will be brought into custody in the near term, and prosecutors have not said when any further court proceedings may begin. The extent of each defendant's alleged role is also not yet fully clear from the unsealed material. What to watch next is whether additional arrests follow in other countries and whether the case leads to further cooperation between US, Canadian and European authorities.
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