Pakistan, ISI Pushes Global Drug Cartels To Fund Khalistan Revival, Indian Agencies Uncover Expanding Network | India News

NEW DELHI: Several drug busts have taken place in Punjab in recent months by both local police and central agencies after intelligence agencies expressed concern over the rise in narcotics-related operations with the intention of financing terrorist activities and the Khalistan movement in particular.

Authorities say drug cartels, established to raise money for the Khalistan movement, operate on a global scale.

An Intelligence Bureau official said the drugs coming into India were meant to raise money for the Khalistan movement in Punjab, but there were also similar cartels run mainly by Punjabi-Canadians.

Following the crackdown that led to the end of the Khalistan movement in India, many people moved abroad.

Many moved to Canada and became politically influential over the years. These elements have grown while also enjoying government protection because they control a significant vote bank.

ISI helped build this network over the years and realized that funding through drug money was the only way forward, considering the scale at which it wanted the Khalistanis to operate.

In Canada, trucking companies are used as fronts for drug transportation.

In February of this year, Peel regional police seized 479 kilograms of cocaine stored in truck trailers entering from the United States. Nine people were arrested, six of whom were Indo-Canadian.

There are 8 lakh Sikhs living in Canada. Only a small portion supports the Khalistan movement. This means that those who do not believe in this movement do not contribute to the cause.

However, Khalistani terror groups need large amounts of money to run their business. Therefore, drugs are the most lucrative way to raise money.

Banned organizations such as Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) are organizing referendums in many countries. The expenses were huge as it required setting up huge stages, arranging buses, printing ballot papers, renting space and advertising, an official said.

Indian institutions estimate that each referendum costs the SFJ thousands of dollars. Investigations revealed that much of the funding for these referendums came from drug money.

India has raised this issue many times and said that the lack of a proper crackdown on these narco networks creates a security problem. While money is being directed to terrorist groups to hold a referendum, a considerable amount of funds are also being transferred to revive the movement in India.

The assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar of Canada’s Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) snowballed into a major diplomatic tussle, with the establishment then under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accusing Indian agents of being behind the killing.

However, Indian agencies learned that it was a dispute over a drug deal that led to Nijjar’s murder.

There were problems with drug routes between Nijjar and another drug cartel. It was stated that two of those arrested were part of criminal networks dealing in drugs and weapons.

Indian officials warn that the problem is getting worse. In the 1980s, Babbar Khalsa International used extortion and arms smuggling to raise money. Today we are completely addicted to drugs.

The drug menace has worsened and the ISI has forced these elements to expand their trade, an official said. An Intelligence Bureau official said the money collected was huge.

“We have witnessed an increase in activity and there is a huge push to revive the Khalistan movement on a much larger scale. This will mean more propaganda, more social media activity, radicalization and referendums. All this costs money and the way the ISI is pushing these elements to develop the drug trade is a sign of something bigger coming,” the official said.

Recently, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) uncovered an international drug cartel with links to the ISI and Canada. Opinder Singh Sian, an Indo-Canadian gangster, was arrested after it was revealed that he was operating a global fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking network. The Brotherhood’s Watchmen gang, of which he is a part, is an active supporter of the Khalistan movement.

India follows these activities closely and does its best to prevent funds from cartels from reaching the country. India successfully managed to block the movement in the country. But the problem will be much bigger outside India as fundraising efforts for the Khalistan movement have increased manifold, according to another official.