Federal Agents Arrest 11 in California Over India-Based Gang Operations

Federal and local authorities arrested 11 accused members of transnational, India-based gangs and their affiliates in California on Tuesday as part of a case called Operation Hard Ball. The arrests targeted suspects in Los Angeles, Fresno, Sacramento, Stockton, San Jose and other cities. Officials executed 23 search warrants in the Sacramento area and 19 in Los Angeles.

Court documents describe the groups using California as a base for extortion, contract killings, drug trafficking and gun sales. Prosecutors said the organizations allegedly reaped millions of dollars in illegal profits from these activities. Law enforcement seized more than 2,200 pounds of cocaine and heroin, $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms during the investigation.

Authorities also conducted at least 50 raids across the U.S., Canada and Europe. Another accused member is charged with attempting to extort $200,000 from an undercover federal officer posing as a wealthy expat in Los Angeles. A British Columbia resident, 57, faces charges of smuggling hundreds of pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine weekly from California cities including Los Angeles, West Covina, Ontario, Fontana and Perris into Canada using semi trucks and farming vehicles.

Additional arrests occurred in Indiana, Georgia, Canada and Spain. Officials are seeking seven fugitives in the U.S., two in India and one in Europe.

“They’re people who used LA as kind of the crossroads of their criminal enterprise, whether it’s drugs, extortion, murder, or other things.”