LOS ANGELES, CA — Federal agents arrested several people, including a Metro worker, in a wide-ranging operation aimed at an alleged transnational organized crime network accused of moving drugs and illegal weapons into communities, authorities said Tuesday.
Justin Guzman, 26, was taken into custody at the El Monte Transit Center, where he worked. Officials also searched a Highland Park apartment where he lives and a second Highland Park house investigators say he had frequented.
Federal prosecutors link case to India-based Bhagwanpuria Organized Crime Ring
Prosecutors say Guzman was associated with the Bhagwanpuria Organized Crime Ring, an India-based group that operated in California and elsewhere in the Central District of California.
The case is part of “Operation Hard Ball,” which Tuesday involved arrests and searches in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Twenty-four arrests made as investigators allege extortion, kidnapping and murder
Authorities said 24 people have been arrested so far, including eight from Southern California. Court documents also connect the investigation to the 2023 killing of a prominent Sikh political and religious figure in Canada, identified only as “H.S.N.”
Investigators say the alleged criminal groups were involved in extortion, kidnapping, trafficking, money laundering, human smuggling and murder.
Searches in Los Angeles and Sacramento turn up cocaine, heroin, cash and firearms
Officials said the investigation has led to the seizure of about 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, 1 kilogram of heroin, $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms.
According to a federal release, agents have executed 23 search warrants in the Sacramento area and 11 in the Los Angeles area as the operation continues.
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