AN Indian newspaper says that Amritpal Singh, for whom the FBI had issued a wanted poster on Tuesday for his alleged involvement in a transnational criminal organization known as the Ravinder Dhanda Organized Crime Group based out of Vancouver, Canada, died in India in a collision last year.
The Times of India reports that Amritpal Singh died in a road accident on February 19 last year in his native village of Mowai in Jalandhar district in the state of Punjab.
The newspaper said that his father, Harvinder Singh, a former village “sarpanch” (an elected leader of the village council) told them that Amritpal Singh had returned home from the U.S. just a few months before his death. His mother, Manjit Kaur, is the current village “sarpanch.”
Amritpal reportedly told people that he was going to permanently settle down in India. He died late one evening, while returning from his fields when his scooter collided with his family tractor trolly ahead of him after the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes.
However, the report has yet to be confirmed by the FBI.
The FBI alleges the Ravinder Dhanda Organized Crime Group engaged in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to export controlled substances.
This organization allegedly smuggled bulk quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine for drug trafficking organizations throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. On June 23 a federal arrest warrant was issued for Amritpal Singh in the United States District Court, Central District of California, Los Angeles, California, after he was charged with “conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances” and “possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.”
According to a news release on July 7 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California, Ravinder Singh Dhanda, 57, a.k.a. “Randy,” “Rolex,” and “John Wick,” of Vancouver, Canada, Jaskarn Baghri, 50, a.k.a. “Baba,” of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, Gurtej Singh Smagh, 43, a.k.a. “Simba,” of Creston, British Columbia, Canada, and eight other defendants [Harmanveer Singh, aka “Hari Gautam,” aka “Harman Sandhu”; Prince Pal Singh; Narain Singh Gurm, aka “Naraw Singh Gurm,” aka “Narayan Singh”; Javier Ureta Angulo; Justin Guzman; Bryan Moreno Rosales; Jaspreet Khara; and Amritpal Singh] are charged in an eight-count indictment returned June 23 alleging they transported, smuggled, and distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine each week from the U.S. into Canada.
Just two days after a “Wanted by the FBI” poster for Harmanveer Singh was issued, he was arrested in Stockton, California, by officers with the California Highway Patrol on July 22.
According to the indictment, Dhanda operated a drug distribution network that provided international smuggling services for bulk quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine to drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He negotiated transportation rates and logistics with these DTOs and subcontracted the storage and transportation of these drugs.
IF you refer to the indictment “USA v Dhanda et al,” it does appear probable that Amritpal Singh (“A. Singh”) could have left the U.S. for India after September 2023. The last date where he figures in the events mentioned in the indictment is September 18, 2023.
The indictment states: “On September 18, 2023, defendant P. SINGH delivered the approximately 79.4 kilograms of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine previously received from defendant ANGULO to defendants KHARA and A. SINGH in Rialto, California for purposes of transportation to the U.S.-Canada border.”
Also: “On September 18, 2023, defendant P. SINGH loaded the approximately 79.4 kilograms of cocaine onto a long-haul semi-truck while defendants KHARA and A. SINGH acted as lookouts.”
The indictment also states: “On September 18, 2023, defendants KHARA and A. SINGH transported, in four duffel bags in the rear of a long-haul semi-truck’s trailer, approximately 79.4 kilograms of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, as depicted below:” [See photo]
Count Four states: “On or about September 18, 2023, in San Bernadino County, within the Central District of California, defendants RAVINDER SINGH DHANDA, also known as “Randy,” “Rolex,” “Jim,” “Daytona,” and “John Wick,” PRINCE PAL SINGH, JASPREET KHARA, and AMRITPAL SINGH, each aiding and abetting the others, knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute at least five kilograms, that is, approximately 79.4 kilograms, of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, a Schedule II narcotic drug controlled substance.”
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An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
