Operation Hardball explained: Inside FBI’s crackdown on Lawrence Bishnoi and his associates

Published 8 July 2026 · india

With 24 arrests spread across U.S., Canada, and Europe, the law enforcement agencies of the three countries have launched a massive crackdown on Lawrence Bishnoi’s

With 24 arrests spread across U.S., Canada, and Europe, the law enforcement agencies of the three countries have launched a massive crackdown on Lawrence Bishnoi’s associates, linked with three India-based transnational organised crime groups. This move assumes significance owing to the charges slapped by law agencies in the U.S., including Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), accusing Bishnoi’s gang of orchestrating the assassination of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. The mission titled ‘Operation Hardball’, is a result of years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates that engage in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, the trafficking of bulk quantities of narcotics across international borders, according to a media release by U.S. Attorney’s office. Until yet, 37 defendants, including Lawrence Bishnoi, are charged across three indictments unsealed on July 7, 2026. “Those arrested in the United States – 11 in California, one in Indiana, and one in Georgia – are expected to make their initial appearances today in federal court,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. What is Operation Hardball? The operation ‘Hardball’ was a covert mission undertaken by law enforcement agencies in the U.S. shortly after Khalistani Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder.

Following Nijjar’s murder in June 2023, the then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had accused Indian government for orchestrating his murder in Canadian soil. He stated the evidence linking Indian government’s agents with Nijjar’s killings has been shared among the ‘Five Eyes’ Partners. India has categorically rejected Canada’s claims. The United States supported Canada’s investigation and urged India to cooperate, but it did not publicly endorse or independently confirm Canada’s allegation that the Indian government was responsible. Reaffirming support to the probe, the then U.S. Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had said, “I firmly reject the idea that there is a wedge between the United States and Canada. We have deep concerns about the allegations and we would like to see this investigation carried forward and the perpetrators held to account”. First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said on Tuesday (July 7, 2026), “The accused individuals prey on people here in the U.S. who still have ties back in India. He said one of the accused, holding a top rank in police force, had threatened a Los Angeles family to pay him $400,000 by falsely charging their relatives in India with murder until they agreed to pay.