John Wick, Rocket & trusted lieutenants: The Indian gangsters named in US indictments

THree union soldier indictments uncertain on tues below functioning Hard Ball lay out details of how three syndicates allegedly operated: a gangster running murders and extortion from behind bars, a Vancouver trafficker moving cocaine in farm trucks under the alias “John Wick”, and members accused of using corrupt police in Punjab to frame rivals for murder.The indictments allege that the three gangs - the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria enterprise and Ravinder Singh Dhanda’s drug trafficking network - are involved in crimes including murder, extortion, racketeering, weapons trafficking and international drug smuggling.In all, prosecutors have charged 37 suspects, of which 24 arrests have been made across countries. Ten are at large.Here’s what the indictments say about the key figures named in each case:The Bishnoi networkIn the first indictment, US vs Bishnoi, et al, prosecutors identified Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, as the mastermind of the syndicate.Jailed in Ahmedabad since 2015, Bishnoi allegedly continues to run the gang from prison using contraband mobile phones and internet-based communication devices, the statement read. Once a university student leader, Bishnoi turned to organised crime and, prosecutors said, cultivated a public image as a “nationalist”, “patriot” and a “religious”.He allegedly orchestrates crimes with his motley of “trusted lieutenants”, the US statement said.Bishnoi made a name in student politics in 2011, when he became president of Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU), HT reported earlier.He got into the world of organised crime in 2013, with operations at the time limited to border areas of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. It was in 2018 when Bishnoi hit the national headlines with his threat to kill actor Salman Khan for hunting a blackbuck. The Bishnoi community considers blackbuck sacred.His gang is famously known to have claimed responsibility for killing rapper Sidhu Moose Wala in Punjab’s Mansa in May 2022. Satinderjeet Singh, alias Goldy Brar (32), is among Bishnoi’s trusted loyalists. According to the US statement, Brar runs the syndicate’s operations across North America and remains in direct contact with the jailed leader.He is also authorised to speak on Bishnoi’s behalf and is responsible for coordinating the syndicate’s crimes internationally, it alleged.US federal prosecutors accuse Bishnoi and Brar of ordering the June 18, 2023, assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Brar remains a fugitive, and the FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest. Rohit Godara (37), who belongs to Rajasthan, is named as Bishnoi gang’s European leader and one of its principal decision-makers outside India. Prosecutors alleged that he coordinates transnational extortion plots and delivers threats to targets across North America over WhatsApp.Sukhraj Singh Kang (58) is named in the indictment as one of Bishnoi’s trusted leader in Punjab.The Bhagwanpuria gangThe second indictment, US vs Bhagwanpuria, et al, targets the syndicate allegedly headed by Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, 38, who once worked alongside Bishnoi before the two became rivals.Also imprisoned in Punjab, Bhagwanpuria commands a global network of more than 1,000 members across the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, with over 100 operatives active inside the US alone, the US statement alleges.Prosecutors said the group expanded by cultivating corrupt law enforcement and government officials in India, feeding them information to frame rivals and run international extortion rackets. Gurlal Singh, 22, a resident of California, is described as an “illegal alien” from India, according to the statement. Singh, it alleges, is a local enforcer for the syndicate.In April 2026, prosecutors said, Singh threatened a victim and passed their personal details to a corrupt police officer in Punjab, who then used that information to falsely implicate the target and their family in a January 2026 murder. The police officer in Punjab allegedly fabricated charges to extort the family, the statement reads.Another key member named in the indictment is 26-year-old Gurdev Singh, who has been accused of attempting to extort a family in the US Midwest while in ICE custody. Gurdev allegedly told the family he will “put bullets” in their kids to threaten them.Garinder Deo (40) is a Vancouver resident who allegedly operates under the aliases ‘Doctor’, ‘Rocket’ and ‘Ritz Carlton’. The statement names him as a bulk narcotics buyer who allegedly relied on Bhagwanpuria operatives to move cocaine and heroin from Southern California to the eastern US.Though not charged as a gangster, Deo’s purchases – the prosecution alleges – helped enrich the syndicate. His pipeline collapsed in June 2025, when police intercepted a shipment of 99.2 kilograms of cocaine and a kilogram of heroin, the statement says.The Dhanda networkThe third indictment, US vs Dhanda, et al, names Ravinder Singh Dhanda, 57 - also known as ‘Randy’, ‘Rolex’ and ‘John Wick’ - as the leader of an international smuggling network based in Vancouver. The gang is alleged to have supplied bulk cocaine and methamphetamine to trafficking organisations in the US, Canada and Mexico.Prosecutors allege Dhanda negotiated transportation deals, set logistics plans and arranged the storage and movement of narcotics, which were hidden in long-haul semi-trucks and farm trucks to move drugs from Southern California to Canada.They shipped 430.1 kg of cocaine between July 2023 and November 2024, the statement read. Jaskarn Baghri, 50, known as ‘Baba’, of Surrey, British Columbia, and Gurtej Singh Smagh, 43, known as ‘Simba’, of Creston, British Columbia, are also named in the indictment as members of the gang.According to the statement, this network functioned as an international logistics chain, moving kilograms of drugs each week along commercial routes connecting Southern California with the US-Canada border.