Indian-origin men face long prison terms in US as transnational crime cases rise
Washington: An Indian-origin Canadian national, Guramrit Sidhu, 63, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in the United States on July 9, 2026, for running a large drug-smuggling network.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Sidhu operated as the kingpin of a transnational organization between September 2020 and February 2023 that trafficked over 850 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine from Southern California into Canada using commercial trucks.
US authorities intercepted eight truckloads containing about 523 kg of methamphetamine and 347 kg of cocaine valued at an estimated 15 to 17 million US dollars. Sidhu, a Brampton resident, was arrested in Canada and extradited to the US in October 2024.
Other cases reported this year include Brahmananda Prasad, 65, of Queens, sentenced in May 2026 to about 23 years for a cocaine distribution conspiracy, and Jaskaran Singh, 31, from Punjab, who received more than 17 years in 2025 for an MDMA-smuggling operation. Fraud and healthcare cases have also led to prison terms, including a 7.5-year sentence for Ligneshkumar H. Patel in an elder-imposter scam and a 2-year term for Mohammed Asif in a Medicare fraud case.
In July 2026, the US Department of Justice announced a coordinated crackdown on India-linked organized crime syndicates, with the FBI and partners in Canada and Europe making around 24 arrests. Lawrence Bishnoi, 33, imprisoned in Ahmedabad, was indicted in California as the alleged leader of a racketeering enterprise accused of murder-for-hire, extortion, drug trafficking and other offences across the US, Canada, Europe and India. Prosecutors alleged operations were directed from prison and targeted diaspora communities.
The spate of convictions and indictments reflects a rising trend of transnational criminal activity involving individuals of Indian origin abroad. Law enforcement agencies in the US, Canada and Europe have reported increasing cases of drug trafficking, fraud, extortion and organized crime networks operating across borders, raising concerns about diaspora safety and the need for greater international cooperation to dismantle such syndicates.
