Drug lord wanted by FBI lands in Punjab Police net
Punjab director general of police Yadav added that Shawn is a key player in the global narcotics syndicate and was arrested by Tarn Taran police
Punjab Police have arrested Shehnaz Singh alias Shawn Bhinder, 43, an international drug dealer wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), police chief Gaurav Yadav said on Monday.
Punjab director general of police Yadav added that Shawn is a key player in the global narcotics syndicate and was arrested by Tarn Taran police. As per police, Shawn graduated from a college in Batala and moved to Canada in 2014 where he started a trucking business and used to smuggle consignments under the guise of a legitimate transportation business in Canada. Overseeing the movement of drugs from Colombia to the US and Canada via Mexico was his main task and after the crackdown by the FBI, Shawn managed clandestinely land in India in the first week of March and was residing in Ludhiana.
“@TarnTaranPolice arrests big fish Shehnaz Singh @ Shawn Bhinder, a transnational drug lord wanted by the #FBI-#USA. He was a key player in a global narcotics syndicate, smuggling cocaine from #Colombia into the #USA and #Canada,” Yadav posted on X.
Punjab-origin drug lord is counted as “one of the most brutal and criminal drug lord”.
Known as ‘Shawn Bhinder’ in the world of drug smuggling, he is a native of Mandiala village in Batala and had been residing in Brampton in Canada on permanent residency (PR). He is wanted by the FBI in one of the largest drug seizures in the USA on February 26, 2025. The US federal agency had arrested six of his associates in the US and seized 391kg of methamphetamine, 109 kg of cocaine, four sophisticated weapons and vehicles from their possession.
The six accused previously arrested by the FBI have been identified as Amritpal Singh alias Amrit alias Bal, Amritpal Singh alias Cheema, Taqdeer Singh alias Romi, Sarabjit Singh Saabi, Fernando Valladares alias Franco and Gurlal Singh.
Shawn was arrested from Ludhiana after a human intelligence-led operation by a team led by counter-intelligence deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Swapan Sharma.
FBI dossier received by Punjab Police claims that the probe revealed that Bhinder, along with his accomplices, were transporting approximately 600kg of cocaine from Colombia every week. HT has a copy of the dossier.
“Since at least in or about October 2023, a group of conspirators led by Shawn — a Canada-based drug trafficker who holds himself out as a corrupt police officer — operated a drug trafficking organisation that imported cocaine into the U.S., transported it to stash houses and other distribution sites using networks of trucking companies and drivers, and sold it in communities across the U.S. and into Canada,” reads the dossier.
It disclosed that two aides of Shawn, Amrit and Cheema, served as Shawn’s enforcers and helped operate the drug trafficking organisation by safekeeping and distributing cocaine while armed with guns.
“Members imported cocaine into the U.S. from Colombia and delivered the drug to co-conspirators in the midwestern U.S., including a vacant home used by Amrit and others in Indiana. From there, the cocaine was distributed across the U.S. and to Canada, including through and to California, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. This cross-border trade, from Colombia to the U.S. and Canada, was lucrative,” the dossier added.
FBI dossier said beginning in or about April 2024, two members —Romy and Sabi — stole a large cache of cocaine and worked with others, including Franco - to distribute the stolen cocaine from, among other places, two hotels in New York City.
Shawn-led group announced plans to travel to New York with weapons to reclaim their stolen drugs and serve vengeance on members who stole the cocaine and their families.
The day before arriving in New York City, Amrit and Cheema, took photos of themselves displaying weapons over a large cache of stacked cocaine and were later arrested by the FBI, the dossier added.
“He has a legal passport. How he managed all this is a matter of investigation,” said a senior police official dealing with the case.
In Punjab, Bhinder was wanted in a case filed under the Arms Act in December 2024, wherein Tarn Taran Police had arrested five members of the notorious Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Amritpal Batth gang, leading to the recovery of a significant cache of arms and ammunition from their possession.
SSP Tarn Taran, Abhimanyu Rana said Shawn’s network is believed to have ties with notorious drug traffickers, including Amritpal Singh alias Baath and Gurjant Singh Bholu Havelia.
