US says Bishnoi ran global gang from jail

Washington, July 8 (IANS) US prosecutors have alleged that jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi directed a sprawling international criminal enterprise from an Indian prison, using contraband mobile phones and internet-based communications to oversee murders, extortion, drug trafficking and other crimes across several countries.

The allegations are contained in a federal racketeering indictment unsealed on Tuesday (local time) as part of 'Operation Hard Ball', a multinational crackdown targeting three organised crime groups accused of operating across North America, Europe and elsewhere.

According to the indictment, Bishnoi transformed what began as a student network in Punjab into a transnational organised crime syndicate after abandoning campus politics.

"While enrolled in university in the early 2010s, defendant BISHNOI styled himself as a student leader and developed a network of associates and followers. Defendant BISHNOI soon thereafter traded campus politics for criminal activity, and refashioned his associates and followers into a criminal organisation," the indictment states.

Although arrested by Indian authorities in 2015, prosecutors allege Bishnoi continued to lead the organisation from prison.

The indictment says he used "contraband cellphones and other voice over internet protocol devices smuggled into his jail cell" to direct "political assassinations, murders, shootings, extortions, kidnappings, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and other crimes" carried out by members of the organisation worldwide.

US authorities allege the organisation expanded well beyond India, establishing networks across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, with thousands of members and associates worldwide, including hundreds in the United States and Canada.

The indictment also alleges Bishnoi carefully cultivated a public image to recruit followers.

"In public, defendant BISHNOI projected an image of himself as a 'patriot,' 'nationalist,' and deeply religious individual." Prosecutors allege he used social media posts and media interviews to recruit members in India, the United States and elsewhere.

Investigators alleged that the organisation recruited vulnerable young people, particularly in Punjab.

According to the indictment, the group recruited "primarily from vulnerable, disadvantaged populations in India," often targeting minors from impoverished areas by promising money, notoriety and protection. Loyal members were allegedly sent to countries including the United States and Canada on student and foreign worker visas, sometimes using fraudulent information.

US prosecutors further allege that the organisation deliberately maintained a decentralised structure so that lower-ranking members knew little about one another, making the network more resilient and limiting its exposure if members were arrested. 

They also allege members were threatened with violence against themselves or relatives in India if they cooperated with law enforcement or attempted to leave the organisation.

The indictment accuses Bishnoi of leading a criminal enterprise engaged in targeted killings, extortion, narcotics trafficking and human smuggling, while using high-profile acts of violence to build the organisation's reputation and intimidate victims in India and among Indian diaspora communities abroad. 

Prosecutors also allege profits from criminal activities were shared across the network and channelled back to members in India.

--IANS

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