How Lawrence Bishnoi grew his extortion gang in Canada

Lawrence Bishnoi and his international criminal enterprise were the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice indictment on Tuesday. Bishnoi, a 33-year-old crime boss, is accused of running a criminal empire from a high-security jail in India and directing members to assassinate the pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in B.C. in 2023. Read the transcript or watch the video to learn more about Bishnoi and how his gang spread in Canada.

A violent transnational gang behind an extortion crisis, alleged murder-for-hire plots, and violence against Canada’s Sikh community is now the target of the FBI.

Members of the Bishnoi gang were among the 37 alleged criminals charged on July 7 in a multi-year investigation into three India-based crime gangs in what law enforcement are calling ‘Operation Hard Ball’.

That includes new charges against their jailed leader, Lawrence Bishnoi.

It’s a complex web of murder, extortion, and a potential political assassination that’s tightened tensions between Canada and India.

So, who is Lawrence Bishnoi, the head of the gang at the centre of it all?

We spell it out.

Lawrence Bishnoi is a 33-year-old law school graduate, who’s been imprisoned in India since 2015.

“He’s basically run a transnational criminal empire from inside a high-security Indian prison, and that is something that should be reminiscent of Pablo Escobar,” said Robert Huish, an Associate Professor in International Development Studies at Dalhousie University.

He said the alleged crime boss’ criminal career started in the early 2010s.

“There was accusations of attempted murder, assault, and robbery, and those cases were involved, to his involvement in student politics,” Huish said.

“There’s a lot of political activism that goes with Bishnoi, so he’s done well to accumulate wealth through his gang,” Huish explained.

“He’s formed lots of connections with arms dealers, expanded criminal operations as a student at Panjab University, and then after he graduated, the violent activities and the boldness of political intimidation, in particular, became part of his brand.”

Law enforcement allege Bishnoi is the head of more than 1,000 gang members in Canada alone.

Canada declared them a terrorist entity in 2025, earning praise from B.C.’s premier, with David Eby saying in a social media video “People have been living in fear of extortion. This is an important move that could make our streets safer.”

The gang is accused of extorting and carrying out violent crimes, including shootings and kidnappings, targeting Canada’s Sikh community and business owners, mainly in B.C. but also Alberta and Ontario.

U.S. law enforcement and the RCMP allege gang members also targeted extortion victims’ family members, often focusing on ones in India.

Police allege in some cases, they would use corrupt law enforcement officials in India to help in extortion schemes.

“These groups are known to prey on the less fortunate to carry out the criminal activities,” said RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme on July 7 in Los Angeles during a press conference about Operation Hard Ball.

Duheme called the leaders of the three gangs “some of the most cruel and wide-reaching criminals, whose crimes range from kidnapping to extortion to murder to shootings to arson to drug trafficking and many others.”

He added law enforcement is “putting a stop to a significant flow of drugs and farms into Canada.”

Huish described the terror the Bishnoi gang has inflicted on Canadians in the Sikh community.

“They’re outside your house, they’re in your neighbourhood, they know who you are, they’re putting cars in flames, they’re shooting up houses,” he said.

On July 7, the FBI announced it was charging 37 individuals in three indictments for India-based organized crime rings, including Bishnoi’s.

At least 24 people were arrested in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

One indictment accuses Bishnoi of ordering the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., in 2023.

It also accuses Bishnoi’s longtime associate Satinderjeet Singh, known as Goldy Brar, with the FBI calling him the gang’s North American Leader.

He was among three people arrested in the Vancouver area.

“The gang used this assassination and other high-profile acts of violence to terrorize Sikh and other Indian communities, and they use acts of violence to legitimize and bolster widespread extortion schemes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Bilal Essayli, during the July 7 press conference.

In 2024, then Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian officials stationed in Canada of using the international crime ring to carry out attacks in Canada, including Nijjar’s murder.

The move hurt Canada’s relationship with the other nation.

This week, the RCMP told CBC News there was no evidence Indian officials were involved in the alleged crimes from this announcement.

But Huish says there should be questions about how Bishnoi has allegedly been able to run an international crime organization with thousands of members while locked up in a high-security prison in India.

“How in the world is a guy in maximum security prison in charge and operating this syndicate?” he said.

“It’s a cartel with such efficiency that needs to be questioned. What are Indian authorities doing about this, and will Indian authorities respect the charges that are being put forward by the FBI?”

But he added “in terms of pinning it on a politician, I think everyone’s taking the silver step to not jump into that situation.”

In Canada, the Bishnoi gang has tapped into Canada’s massive pool of temporary workers and foreign students to build an army of enforcers.

In late 2025, the RCMP linked the Bishnoi gang to violent extortions in Metro Vancouver and Brampton, Ont.

As of June 2026, the Canada Border Services Agency has opened almost 500 immigration investigations, issued 139 removal orders and enforced at least 80 deportations, all linked to individuals connected to the gang.

Huish said Canada has one of the largest Sikh immigrant communities in the world, and they’re on the radar of politicians and nationalists in India.

“The presence of that and the consciousness of Sikh separatism in India is huge,” he explained.

“There was a couple diplomats who said … there ought to be a third order preoccupation with many Indian politicians about their obsession with, worried about, Khalistan separation.”

He says if the FBI pursues murder charges for a crime carried out in Canada, it could get murky.

“If the order for Bishnoi to execute Mr. Singh occurred, and the court say, ah, that was there, and there’s any connections that involved people or property in.

Huish said because the Bishnoi gang is designated as a terrorist group, any Canadians who have dealings with the gang could be deemed to be associating with terrorist activities.

For now, it remains to be seen if police can dismantle the gang and round up the foot soldiers still in Canada.

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