How US used undercover ops to build case against Lawrence Bishnoi gang, secure 24 arrests

THe role of secret informants and undercover operatives were vital to the investigations starting 2023 that led to the arrests proclaimed tues of 24 individuals linked to the Bishnoi, Bhagwanpuria and Dhandra organised law-breaking groups, according to three separate indictments filed by the US department of Justice.One of the indictments showed the earliest investigation, which ultimately resulted in sweeping arrests by US law enforcement in an operation known as Hard Ball, was that of Ravinder Singh Dhanda, a Canada-based drug trafficker who transported large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamines to other drug trafficking organisations in the US, Canada and Mexico.Cocain delivery in Lon AngelesOn July 10, 2023, Dhanda made contact with a person who he believed to be a drug transportation coordinator and asked for the number of a drug transporter as well as other information to ensure a delivery of cocaine to an individual in Los Angeles. However, the individual Dhanda contacted was a confidential informant working with US law enforcement, referred to in the indictment as CI-1. Dhanda passed on the information given to him by CI-1 to another representative for a drug trafficking organisation. Just a week later, CI-1 was able to meet with Dhanda and an associate at a park in Blaine, Washington, to discuss smuggling loads of cocaine and methamphetamine across the US-Canada border.After this, CI-1 became a regular contact for Dhanda’s drug organisation, helping facilitate several drop-offs of cocaine and meth in August and October 2023. Dhanda even asked CI-1 to verify drug shipments received by his organisation. The relationship between this informant and Dhanda’s gang continued, with physical meetings in November 2024 and January 2025. Dhanda was later arrested by Canadian police.Similar plans for Punjab-based gangEven as law enforcement agencies built the case against Dhanda’s organisation, they were employing a similar method to infiltrate the Punjab-based Bhagwanpuria gang, which was also involved in drug trafficking, according to another indictment. On June 17, 2024, members of the gang sold five kilograms of cocaine to an individual they believed was a criminal associate. However, the individual was a confidential informant , once again referred to as CI-1, for law enforcement. It is not clear if this was the same individual maintaining contact with the Dhanda drug trafficking group. The gang got $45,000 from CI-1 for the sale.Just a year later, in July 2025, members of the gang were offering to sell CI-1 weapons, including AK-47s and grenades. The sale was completed on September 4 in a California parking lot with CI-1 purchasing pistols and ammunition for a total price of $2,000. Just a few months later., in September 2025, CI-1 bought semi-automatic rifles and ammunition from members of the Bhagwanpuria gang. The informant steadily cultivated this relationship by purchasing arms worth thousands of dollars in October and December 2025 from the gang. Matters escalated in February this year, when the gang sought to transport from the US to Canada what it thought to be a genuine 20 kilogram load of cocaine received from CC-1. However, the load was a sham and was subsequently seized by law enforcement on February 23. The indictment against members of the Bhagwanpuria group-- their leader is in an Indian jail-- reveals that CI-1 received messages from members of the group accusing him of placing trackers in the shipment.The US government also used an undercover official - named UC-1 in a third indictment - to build its case against the Bishnoi gang, headed by Lawrence Bishnoi, who is also lodged in an Indian jail.On January 11, 2025, Sukraj Singh Kang , a member of the Bishnoi gang , spoke to a person whom the gang believed was owed a debt of between $100,000-$200,000 but was in fact a confidential informant, again identified as CI-1. The indictment said Kang agreed to help extort a debtor in exchange for a fee of $16,000. Members of the Bishnoi gang then contacted an individual who they believed owed a debt to CI-1 but was in fact an undercover law enforcement officer, referred to as UC-1 in the indictment. In subsequent conversations over the course of 2025, members of the Bishnoi gang contacted UC-1 and threatened to kill him if he did not pay the $200,000 owed. Through this process, CI-1 was also introduced to members of the Bishnoi gang who were also involved in the extortion case.Members of the Bishnoi gang, now facing charges in US courts, continued to make incriminating threats to UC-1 through 2025 after the undercover official made extortion payments that were less than the agreed-upon amount.Based on the evidence collected from these investigations, US law enforcement presented their case to grand juries. On June 23, the indictment against the Dhanda gang was returned, followed one against the Bhagwanpuria gang in June 25 and finally the Bishnoi gang on July 1. Then, it was time for Hard Ball.