Indian national arrested in California over drug trafficking
Prosecutors say Singh was part of the Ravinder Dhanda Organised Crime Group, based in Vancouver, which often moved drugs across the US-Canada border
Early Tuesday in California’s Central Valley, California Highway Patrol officers arrested Harmanveer Singh, 31, an Indian national from Punjab who also used the names Hari Gautam and Harman Sandhu. Singh is now in federal custody. While his arrest was discreet, the network he allegedly served was not.
The FBI had been watching Singh for less than a month. On June 23, a federal warrant from Los Angeles charged him with conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances, conspiracy to export them, and possession with intent to distribute. By July 21 or 22, he was in custody. The quick arrest shows the ongoing pressure on the network he belonged to.
Prosecutors say Singh was part of the Ravinder Dhanda Organised Crime Group, based in Vancouver, which often moved drugs across the US-Canada border. The group is accused of transporting large amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine for trafficking groups in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Every week, hundreds of kilograms left the Los Angeles area-including West Covina, Ontario, Fontana, and Perris-hidden in long-haul trucks and farm vehicles. The indictment says at least 430 kilograms of cocaine travelled this route between summer 2023 and November 2024.
Ravinder Singh Dhanda, 57, also known as “John Wick,” is named as the group’s leader. He and his associate, Jaskarn Baghri from Surrey, are accused of handling storage, transportation, and distribution. Authorities in British Columbia have started seizing two of Dhanda’s properties, worth over $6 million, saying they are proceeds of crime. Singh’s role is less well known, but the FBI’s choice to issue a wanted poster suggests he played a significant part.
Singh was arrested as part of a larger operation involving several agencies. In early July, the FBI, RCMP, and European partners started Operation Hard Ball to target three India-linked transnational criminal groups tied to Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, and Ravinder Dhanda.
Authorities charged thirty-seven people and arrested twenty-four across three continents, including eleven in California. At first, Singh managed to avoid arrest and was listed publicly by the FBI. Still, the California Highway Patrol eventually caught him in Stockton, a city known for cross-border trafficking.
These networks are more than just isolated gangs. They work as logistics experts, offering smuggling services to other groups while expanding their own operations. According to one informant, Dhanda mentioned plans to start a new “cartel” during a meeting in South Surrey in January 2025. The group’s large ambitions are clear from the scale of their activities, their professional methods of hiding their work, and their ability to keep operating even as international attention grows.
Singh’s arrest in a California trucking town draws attention to a trafficking route that has mostly gone unnoticed. This route connects operators from Punjab, safe locations in Canada, supply routes in California, and demand in Mexico, all through the same network.
The investigation will continue until those in charge of logistics are found and arrested. Upcoming federal court hearings in Los Angeles will show how involved Singh was.
