The international dragnet around the Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate has widened, with French authorities arresting an alleged senior operative wanted in Canada and Canadian authorities ordering the deportation of another associate linked to the firing outside comedian Kapil Sharma's cafe in Surrey.
Garinder Deo, described by investigators as a key member of the Bishnoi network, was arrested in France and is facing extradition to Canada. Authorities allege he coordinated the movement of large consignments of cocaine and heroin across the United States as part of the gang's transnational drug trafficking operations.
In Canada, the Immigration and Refugee Board ordered the deportation of Jashandeep Singh, another alleged gang associate, for his purported role in concealing the weapon used in the drive-by shooting outside Sharma's cafe. Singh, who entered Canada on a student visa in 2022, has denied the allegations. While criminal proceedings against him have not been concluded, immigration authorities ruled that his continued presence posed a threat to public safety.
The two developments form part of the broader multinational enforcement effort known as Operation Hardball, which previously resulted in the U.S. Department of Justice filing sweeping indictments against Lawrence Bishnoi and several senior members of his criminal network.
Investigators said further arrests, including in India, are expected as the operation progresses.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice's indictment, Deo was responsible for overseeing the financial logistics of the syndicate's transatlantic operations. U.S. authorities allege he conspired to transport large quantities of narcotics from Southern California to the eastern United States.
The network suffered a significant setback in June 2025 when U.S. agencies seized a shipment allegedly linked to the syndicate containing around 100 kg of cocaine and 1 kg of heroin.
Canadian authorities' action against Jashandeep Singh follows the recent deportation of another alleged Bishnoi gang member, Arshdeep Singh.
Law enforcement officials say Operation Hardball seeks to dismantle the infrastructure, financial channels and overseas safe havens used by Indian organised crime syndicates. The initiative is built on real-time intelligence sharing among agencies in the United States, Canada, France and India, reflecting a coordinated effort to curb the Bishnoi network's involvement in drug trafficking, extortion and violent crime.
In a separate but related development, Guramrit Sidhu, a 63-year-old Indian-origin resident of Brampton, Ontario, was sentenced to 20 years in a U.S. federal prison for leading a cross-border drug trafficking operation that smuggled hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine—valued at up to $17 million—from the United States into Canada within a month.
( With inputs from TOI)
