Canadian and Sikh leaders react to crackdown on India-based crime gangs

Canadian and American authorities announced "Operation Hard Ball," charging nearly 40 individuals in a crackdown on three India-based crime gangs involved in drug smuggling, extortion, and murder. The operation targeted leadership of organizations preying on the Indian diaspora globally, including alleged involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada. While praising the arrests, Sikh advocacy groups raised concerns about potential foreign government involvement, which law enforcement stated they found no evidence of in this operation.