Operation Hard Ball Nets Local Resident
- kc dyer
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
West Vancouver man arrested in France, awaits extradition
A joint Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiative aimed at locating and arresting the leaders of a number of transnational organized crime groups has a local connection.
In an update to RCMP Superintendent Mike Duheme 's statement announcing the results of Operation Hard Ball, the Federal Policing Pacific Region today announced the arrest of West Vancouver resident Garinder Singh Deo, 40. Deo, was detained in France on July 7 and is currently awaiting extradition to the United States in relation to the initiative.
The joint effort, dubbed Operation Hardball, has resulted in arrests and charges against three of the alleged leaders of several global organized crime networks: Lawrence Bishnoi, Ravinder Dhanda and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria.
The trio are accused of engaging in extortion, drug trafficking, kidnapping and widespread violence, including the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C.
Bishnoi has been accused of masterminding the killing, along with threats and extortion directed at Canadian citizens, from his jail cell in India, where he has been incarcerated since 2015.
The groups are accused of funding their work through firearms and drug trafficking.
Deo is accused of supporting Bishnoi's efforts by working with members and associates of the Bhagwanpuria enterprise by purchasing bulk quantities of cocaine and heroin that were to be distributed and sold across the eastern U.S. before they were intercepted by the FBI in June, 2025.
Duheme called the announcement of the arrests a "big moment" for the RCMP and for public safety in Canada and around the world. "It is a reminder of what can be accomplished when we work together with partners both in Canada and abroad, meeting criminals where they operate, targeting the leadership structures of these criminal groups, and ending their ability to terrorize and extort people. At the same time, we’re putting a stop to a significant flow of drugs and firearms into Canada," Duheme said.
While most of the arrests took place in the U.S., arrest warrents and extradition applications were also made for Canadian residents, and search warrants were executed in West Vancouver, White Rock and Surrey.
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