FBI

Punjab police said on Monday (March 10, 2025) that it had arrested the Indian-American transnational drug owner wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for one of the largest narcotic seizures in the United States.

Police said that since 2014, Shehnaz Singh, also known as Shawn Bhinder, has been under the guise of Canada’s transportation operations, allegedly promoting the movement of drugs from Colombia to the United States and Canada through Mexico.

After a crackdown by the FBI, Bhinder, a native of village Mandiala in Batala who had been residing in Brampton in Canada, managed to give a slip to the FBI sleuths and consolidatedestinely landed in India, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said adding that the Punjab Police successfully tracked and arrested him from the jurisdiction of Ludhiana.

On February 26, 2025, the FBI was wanted in one of the largest drug seizures in the United States, where the agency arrested six of his colleagues and seized 391 kilograms of methamphetamine, 109 kilograms of cocaine, cocaine, four advanced weapons and vehicles from their owners.

The six people arrested by the FBI were identified as Amritpal Singh alias Amrit Alias ​​Bal, Amritpal Singh alias Cheema, Taqdeer Singh Alias ​​Romi, Sarabjit Singh Singh Singh Singh Singh Saabi, Fernando Valladares valladares alias and Gurlal Singh.

The arrests were in the ongoing “Yudh Nashian Virudh” ​​(War on Drugs) campaign launched by the Punjab government on February 25.

DGP said Bhinder was also required to arrest Bhinder in a weapon bill case registered in December 2024. Tarn Taran police arrested five members of the infamous Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Amritpal Batth gang, resulting in massive caches of weapons and ammunition recovery.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Ferozepur Range) Swapan Sharma, accompanied by Police Senior Principal (SSP) Tarn Taran Abhimanyu Rana, said that preliminary investigations showed that Bhinder played a key role in transporting large amounts of drugs using trucks and trailers throughout the international border.

He said during the interrogation, he found that “the accusation of Shawn Bhinder of allegedly promoting the movement of drugs from Colombia to the United States and Canada through Mexico under the guise of legal transportation operations since 2014”.

He added that the investigation also revealed that Bhinder and his associates transport about 600 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia every week.

SSP Rana said the defendants’ network was believed to have links to infamous drug dealers, including Amritpal Singh alias Baath and Gurjant Singh Bholu Havelia. He added that further investigations are underway.