Journalism of Courage
Operation ‘Hardball’: Indian agencies shared, verified list of names and hideouts with US
In their recent meetings, the central agencies are learnt to have shared and verified with US officials a list of associates of Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar, along with details of their possible hideouts.
Lawrence Bishnoi is in a jail in Gujarat; (left) Goldy Brar (File)
In the run-up to Operation Hardball, US law enforcement officials held several meetings with multiple central agencies in India, where they shared and verified information on gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, Rohit Godara, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and their associates, The Indian Express has learnt.
Sources said that Indian agencies, through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), also shared a list of gangsters based in the US and other foreign countries, along with evidence. The meetings gained pace over the last one-and-a-half months, before the coordinated crackdown by law enforcement agencies in the US, Canada and Europe.
“After the deportation of gangster Anmol Bishnoi from the US (in November last year), who is wanted as the main plotter in the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, coordination between India’s central agencies and US law enforcement agencies improved significantly,” said sources.
In their recent meetings, the central agencies are learnt to have shared and verified with US officials a list of associates of Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar, along with details of their possible hideouts.
“In the last five years, several of their associates have been arrested here, and, during questioning, many of them disclosed details about Lawrence Bishnoi, his associates and their activities abroad. On the basis of their disclosures and technical surveillance, evidence was gathered against them,” said sources.
Last year, US officials also visited the NIA headquarters in Delhi, where they shared their concerns about alleged links between Indian-origin gangsters and US drug cartels. They also shared a list of names and sought assistance in taking action against them.
Besides the killings of Siddique and singer Sidhu Moosewala, Lawrence Bishnoi has also been linked to multiple threats against actor Salman Khan. Arrested in 2014, he is now lodged in a jail in Gujarat.
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Jaggu Bhagwanpuria has also been arrested and is lodged in a jail in Assam since March 24 last year.
Both Goldy Brar and Rohit Godara are absconding. According to agencies, Goldy Brar, an aide of Lawrence Bishnoi, is suspected to be working with Azerbaijan-based Rohit Godara. Lawrence Bishnoi is now associated with Canada-based Noni Rana and US-based Harry Boxer.
A central agency official said investigations in multiple cases had revealed that most of these US-based gangsters were in touch with Pakistan-based smugglers for bringing huge quantities of narcotics into India, and for targeted killings.
“Apart from using drones to smuggle narcotics consignments, large consignments brought into India by gangster-smugglers are mostly routed through the sea. They are currently using VPNs to mask their locations and encrypt communication, making it difficult to trace them. They also use encrypted messaging apps for secure communication, and it is difficult to track their channels,” said sources.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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