France Arrests Key Bishnoi Syndicate Figure

A Canadian who has been linked to the international crime syndicate of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi has been arrested in France, amid a cross-North American law enforcement crackdown against Indian-origin gangs.

The Arrest and the Charges

In a massive FBI probe, 40-year-old Garinder Singh Deo was arrested in France and remains in custody for possible extradition to the U.S. Deo was arrested on July 7, the same day Canadian police announced that they had arrested three drug syndicates tied to India that were allegedly responsible for drug smuggling, extortion and the assassination of B.C. Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

US prosecutors allege trafficking was actually a very specific and significant operation. The US indictment states that Deo had bought bulk amounts of cocaine and heroin from Mexico for delivery to Canada and the eastern United States via members and associates of the Bhagwanpuria enterprise from Southern California.

In one of the intercepted shipments in the case, the cocaine was 218.7 pounds and the heroin was 2.2 pounds, which was in a shipment on June 2025.

This was just one of a broader crackdown

Deo isn't alone in his criminal charges. In a crackdown by the FBI, Deo has been charged with three recently unsealed grand jury indictments against Lawrence Bishnoi, Ravinder Dhanda, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and 34 others.

The larger-scale US operation has already had much impact on Canadian soil. Three other B.C. men already had been arrested in connection with a different criminal group and were extraditing to B.C. Supreme Court, and Bishnoi and the man he allegedly led had been swept up in the investigation and were charged in connection with the Nijjar killing, the US Justice Department said.

Asset Seizure in British Columbia

Deo's assets are also being sought by Canadian authorities. The B.C. government is trying to take away three homes valued at more than $11 million owned by Deo and his family — two in Surrey and one in West Vancouver — that were acquired in what is alleged to be Deo's “unlawful activity.”

Deo and his family have 21 days to respond to the claims, which allege he was a member of a criminal organisation engaged in profit-making illegal activity, but have not been substantiated.

Why This Matters

It is part of a larger trend, as the Canadian and Indian communities in British Columbia have faced the challenge of gang violence tied to gangs that span continents. The international syndicates, which have been linked to the Wolfpack gang in California, British Columbia and now France, are loosely connected and investigators say Deo is a “known associate” of the group.