Brussels, July 18: India’s cooperation with international law enforcement agencies has emerged as a key component of ongoing efforts to combat transnational organised crime, with a recent report highlighting the country’s role in global investigations targeting criminal syndicates involved in human trafficking, migrant smuggling, narcotics trafficking, arms smuggling and related cross-border offences.
According to a report published by the European Times, India’s engagement with international agencies is based on its commitments under international law after ratifying the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC) and its three protocols in 2011. The report states that these commitments require action against human trafficking, migrant smuggling and the illicit manufacture and trafficking of firearms.
The report notes that India has consistently treated human trafficking, illegal migration networks, narcotics trafficking, arms smuggling, forged documentation and narco-terror links as interconnected security threats rather than isolated criminal activities. It states that this approach has shaped New Delhi’s cooperation with international partners in tackling organised crime.
The report refers to the United States Department of Justice’s “Operation Hard Ball”, announced on July 7, describing it as a coordinated enforcement action against organised criminal enterprises operating across multiple countries. According to the report, the operation resulted in 24 arrests across the United States, Canada and Europe, execution of more than 50 search warrants, three unsealed indictments and charges against 37 defendants linked to international criminal syndicates.
It further states that the significance of the operation for India extends beyond the scale of arrests because the criminal networks under investigation were reportedly based in India, initially targeted Indian victims and require India’s cooperation for a comprehensive investigation. The report says this places India at the centre of the multinational enforcement effort.
According to the European Times, the indictments describe criminal enterprises led by jailed Punjab gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Canada-based Ravinder Singh Dhanda as organisations allegedly involved in murder-for-hire operations, extortion, weapons trafficking and large-scale narcotics movement across several continents. The report further claims that the Bhagwanpuria network has more than a thousand members and associates worldwide and allegedly uses encrypted communication platforms while continuing operations through contraband mobile phones smuggled into prisons.
The report also states that Indian law enforcement agencies had taken action against these criminal organisations before they attracted wider international attention in countries including Canada and the United States. It notes that these groups have been linked to several high-profile targeted killings in India.
According to the report, the Bishnoi network and its associate Satinderjeet Singh, also known as Goldy Brar, claimed responsibility for the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala in May 2022. It further states that the same network has been linked to the killing of Maharashtra politician Baba Siddique in October 2024 and to threats issued against several public figures. The report says India’s experience in investigating these networks provides significant knowledge regarding their structure, finances and prison-based command systems.
The report further notes that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police acknowledged India’s cooperation during the investigation. It adds that prosecutors have indicated authorities from the United States, Canada, Spain and India are expected to continue close coordination as the investigation and related legal proceedings move forward.
