SHEHNAZ Singh, a South Asian from Canada who was wanted in Colombia-U.S.-Canada cocaine and meth distribution conspiracies by the U.S. – has been arrested in Punjab, India

The Deputy Director of Police (DGP) of India’s Punjab state, Gaurav Yadav, announced on Sunday, March 9 on X that in a major breakthrough, Tarn Taran Police had arrested “Big Fish Shehnaz Singh @ Shawn Bhinder.”

He added: “This operation is a testament to [Punjab Police’s] zero-tolerance approach to drug trafficking and organized crime. We remain committed to working with international law enforcement agencies to ensure that Punjab is not a safe haven for drug smugglers and criminals.”

Punjab Police told the media that Shawn moved to Canada in 2014 where he started a trucking business. He was residing in Brampton, Ontario.

 AN indictment was unsealed on February 27 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, charging seven defendants – six of them of Indian origin — with narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses.

Since at least in or about October 2023, Shehnaz Singh, a/k/a “Shawn,” along with his co-conspirators, Amritpal Singh, a/k/a “Amrit,” a/k/a “Bal,” Amritpal Singh, a/k/a “Cheema,” Takdir Singh, a/k/a “Romy,” Sarbsit Singh, a/k/a “Sabi,” and Gurlal Singh (“Gurlal”), operated a transnational conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S. from Colombia and distribute the drug in cities across the U.S. and into Canada.

Beginning in or about April 2024, a subset of these conspirators—led by Romy and Sabi, and joined by co-conspirators including Fernando Valladares, A/K/A “Franco”—stole a cache of cocaine from their original co-conspirators and agreed to distribute it out of, among other places, hotels in New York City.

Members of the two armed drug trafficking conspiracies hunted each other down, brandished a firearm, and threatened the lives of each other and innocent family members.

Four defendants are in custody after arrests made on the morning of February 26.

Searches of various of the defendants’ residences and vehicles conducted at the time of arrest resulted in the seizure of four firearms, approximately 391 kilograms of methamphetamine, and approximately 109 kilograms of cocaine.

Cheema was arrested in the Eastern District of California and was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher D. Baker and detained.

Romy and Sabi were arrested in the Northern District of Ohio and were presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Grimes Jr. and detained.

Franco was arrested in the Eastern District of New York, presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry J. Ricardo, and released on certain conditions.

Amrit and Gurlal are in custody in Pennsylvania after prior arrests.

But Shawn remained at large.

Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “For more than a year, Shehnaz Singh and his associates not only imported dangerous drugs to sell across the United States but also armed themselves with deadly weapons and endangered communities here in New York City and around the country.  This week, we and our law enforcement partners halted that dangerous activity and took drugs and guns off the street.  I commend the career prosecutors of the Southern District of New York, and our partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, for their tireless efforts to disrupt this dangerous distribution network and to keep communities safe for our country and our neighbors, too.  We hope that today’s charges bring accountability to those who push drugs and use violence to protect their criminal organizations.”

ACCORDING to the allegations contained in the Indictments, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:

[The entirety of the text of the indictments and the description of the indictments set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.]

Since at least in or about October 2023, a group of conspirators led by Shawn—a Canada-based drug trafficker who holds himself out as a corrupt police officer—operated a drug trafficking organization that imported cocaine into the U.S., transported it to stash houses and other distribution sites using networks of trucking companies and drivers, and sold it in communities across the U.S. and into Canada (the “Original Cocaine Conspiracy”). Amrit and Cheema served as, among other things, Shawn’s enforcers, and helped operated the drug trafficking organization by safekeeping and distributing cocaine while armed with guns.

Members of the Original Cocaine Conspiracy imported cocaine into the U.S. from Colombia and delivered the drug to co-conspirators in the midwestern U.S., including a vacant home used by Amrit and others in Indiana. From there, the cocaine was distributed across the U.S. and to Canada, including through and to California, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.

This cross-border trade, from Colombia to the U.S. and Canada, was lucrative. As Amrit described it: “It costs roughly about two, four, or five thousand dollars per [kilo in Colombia]. When it reaches America, it’s worth twelve to thirteen thousand. When it reaches Canada, it’s thirty thousand.”  In total, this organization was moving more than 600 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine a week.

Beginning in or about April 2024, a subset of the Original Cocaine Conspiracy’s members—Romy and Sabi—stole a large cache of cocaine from their co-conspirators in the Original Cocaine Conspiracy and worked with others, including Franco—to distribute the stolen cocaine from, among other places, two hotels in New York City (the “Stolen Cocaine Conspiracy”).

After a co-conspirator (“CC-1”) crashed a truck carrying approximately 10 kilograms of the group’s cocaine and abandoned his cargo, members of the Original Cocaine Conspiracy announced plans to travel to New York with weapons to reclaim their stolen drugs and serve vengeance on members of the Stolen Cocaine Conspiracy and their families.  As Amrit put it: “We need our stuff.  We aren’t letting anyone go.  We are going to kill them all.”

The day before arriving in New York City, Amrit and Cheema, took photos of themselves displaying weapons over a large cache of stacked cocaine.

Once in New York, Amrit and Cheema threatened members of the Stolen Cocaine Conspiracy and their family members with violence.  In just one such incident, at a meeting in front of a home on suburban Long Island, Amrit thrust a handgun into CC-1’s teenage brother’s neck while demanding to know the location of the stolen cocaine.

While executing arrests of certain of the defendants and searches of various residences and vehicles, law enforcement agents seized four firearms, approximately 391 kilograms of methamphetamine, and approximately 109 kilograms of cocaine.

Cheema was stopped while fleeing a residence in Bakersfield, California, and arrested in possession of a loaded handgun.  Three additional firearms were seized from residences or vehicles belonging to or controlled by Romy and Sabi in Cleveland, Ohio, where agents also seized approximately 391 kilograms of methamphetamine and approximately 109 kilograms of cocaine.

The charges:

* SHEHNAZ SINGH, a/k/a “Shawn”, 34: Cocaine distribution conspiracy; using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to, or in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime

* AMRITPAL SINGH, a/k/a “Amrit,” a/k/a “Bal”, 30: Cocaine distribution conspiracy; brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime

* AMRITPAL SINGH, a/k/a “Cheema”, 26: Cocaine distribution conspiracy; using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to, or in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime

* TAKDIR SINGH, a/k/a “Romy”, 33: Cocaine distribution conspiracy; using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to, or in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime Minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison (cocaine distribution conspiracy); minimum of five consecutive years in prison and a maximum of life (firearms offense)

* SARBSIT SINGH, a/k/a “Sabi”, 32: Cocaine distribution conspiracy; using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to, or in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime

* GURLAL SINGH, 29: Cocaine distribution conspiracy; using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to, or in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime

* FERNANDO VALLADARES, a/k/a “Franco”, 36: Cocaine distribution conspiracy