New Delhi/Washington, July 8 -- Law enforcement authorities in America, Canada and Europe announced the arrests of 24 individuals with links to India-based transnational organised crime groups for criminal acts like racketeering, shootings, extortion and even the 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. In total, 37 individuals have been charged with a number of offences, including gangster Lawrence Bishnoi who is currently imprisoned in India. A statement from the US attorney's office in Los Angeles alleges that Bishnoi and his lieutenants directed a transnational organised crime group from jail "using contraband cellphones and other voice-over internet protocol devices smuggled into his jail cell" and charges them directly with ordering the assassination of Nijjar. The arrests came after a years-long investigation into the activities of organised crime groups with links to India. "Today's law enforcement action - "Operation Hard Ball" - is the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates that engage in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, the trafficking of bulk quantities of narcotics across international borders, and other crimes around the world whose impact is especially felt in the Indian diaspora," said a statement from the US justice department. Enforcement authorities are still looking for 10 fugitives, seven of whom are in the US, two in India, and one in Europe. The indictments release focus on the activities of Bishnoi and aides like Goldy Brar as well as the Bhagwanpuria gang, headquartered in India with members reportedly across the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand....