Once an associate of Lawrence Bishnoi, Jagdeep Singh, better known as Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, is now at the centre of a sweeping U.S. federal indictment alleging that he led a transnational organized crime network stretching from India to Canada, the United States and several other countries.
The 38-year-old, who hails from Bhagwanpur village in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, is named in a 44-page federal indictment filed in California. U.S. prosecutors allege that Bhagwanpuria built an organization with more than 1,000 members and associates operating across India, Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Bhagwanpuria was once considered a promising kabaddi player. His first major encounter with law enforcement came in 2012, when Punjab Police charged him in a narcotics case involving the alleged recovery of 28 grams of heroin. He was later acquitted, but investigators have described the case as an early turning point in his alleged involvement in organized crime.
Since then, approximately 128 FIRs have reportedly been registered against him, involving allegations ranging from murder and extortion to narcotics offences, weapons violations and criminal conspiracy.
Bhagwanpuria has spent much of the past decade in Indian prisons. In March 2025, the Narcotics Control Bureau detained him under the PIT-NDPS Act and transferred him to the high-security Silchar Central Jail in Assam in an effort to disrupt his alleged connections with associates in Punjab.
Bhagwanpuria was previously associated with Lawrence Bishnoi, but U.S. prosecutors now describe him as a former associate who broke away and established his own organization.
The rivalry reportedly intensified following a deadly clash between members of the two groups inside Goindwal Sahib Central Jail in February 2023. Two Bhagwanpuria associates, Mandeep Singh alias Tufan and Manmohan Singh alias Mohna, were killed. Bishnoi associate Goldy Brar later claimed responsibility on social media.
Investigators allege the rivalry grew out of competition for control over extortion operations, narcotics trafficking, contract killings and overseas criminal networks.
According to U.S. prosecutors, the Bhagwanpuria organization expanded internationally by establishing networks in countries with large Punjabi diaspora communities, particularly Canada and the United States.
The indictment alleges that overseas associates helped facilitate narcotics trafficking, firearms movement, extortion and money laundering. California allegedly became an important operational hub, with drugs transported across the United States and, in some cases, moved into Canada.
The FBI’s Sacramento field office publicly urged members of the Punjabi community to report extortion threats in May 2024 amid growing concerns about transnational organized crime targeting diaspora communities.
Investigators also allege that social media played a significant role in the network’s recruitment and intimidation efforts.
According to the indictment, economically vulnerable young people — including minors — were allegedly targeted with promises of money, status and opportunities to move abroad. Punjab Police have previously said that individuals linked to Bhagwanpuria’s network were recruited through platforms such as Instagram.
Authorities have also accused organized crime groups of using social media to issue threats, claim responsibility for crimes and glorify gang culture. Punjab’s Anti-Gangster Task Force has said hundreds of social media pages promoting gangster activity have been blocked.
One of the most significant allegations in the U.S. indictment is that Bhagwanpuria continued to oversee criminal operations while incarcerated.
Prosecutors allege that he communicated with overseas associates through contraband phones and encrypted platforms, helping coordinate narcotics shipments and other activities.
In one case detailed by prosecutors, Bhagwanpuria allegedly provided an FBI confidential informant with contact information and an authentication method connected to what was believed to be a 20-kilogram cocaine shipment moving from Los Angeles toward Vancouver.
U.S. authorities intercepted the operation, and prosecutors allege that subsequent communications showed Bhagwanpuria quickly became aware that the shipment had been compromised.
The allegations have placed Bhagwanpuria at the centre of a major U.S. investigation into transnational organized crime and highlighted the growing international reach of criminal networks that investigators say have expanded far beyond Punjab.
The charges contained in the U.S. indictment remain allegations and have not been proven in court.
