BC invokes U.S. racketeering law to seize $11m from Wolfpack-linked Punjab gangster; Kal Dosanjh arrest stirs Canada
Two law enforcement stories involving Punjabi-origin individuals have drawn attention in Vancouver this week. British Columbia's civil forfeiture director filed a notice of civil claim in BC Supreme Court to seize more than $11 million in Vancouver-area real estate from Garinder Singh Deo, a Lower Mainland gangster charged in the United States with facilitating an India-based transnational crime syndicate. Separately, the arrest of Kalwinder 'Kal' Dosanjh, a Punjabi-origin Vancouver police officer, has created a stir within the Canadian community.
BC invokes U.S. racketeering law to seize $11m from alleged India-linked narco
British Columbia's civil forfeiture director has filed a notice of civil claim in BC Supreme Court to seize more than $11 million in Vancouver-area real estate from Garinder Singh Deo, described as a longtime Lower Mainland gangster. Deo is charged in the United States with facilitating an India-based transnational crime syndicate. The forfeiture claim, filed on July 8 in BC Supreme Court, was built on years of suspicious transaction reports filed by Canadian banks to Fintrac, Canada's financial intelligence unit, and on a parallel RCMP investigation that shadowed the FBI's Operation Hard Ball. According to U.S. indictments, Deo is charged in California with aiding the India-based Bhagwanpuria gang by purchasing bulk quantities of cocaine and heroin to be shipped from Southern California to the eastern United States. Deo was arrested in France on July 7, the day before BC's forfeiture notice was filed, and is in custody there awaiting extradition to the United States. In a rare feature of a BC forfeiture pleading, the notice of civil claim cites the United States Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the Hobbs Act, and the U.S. Controlled Substances Act as the unlawful activity underpinning the seizure of Canadian properties. Before the U.S. indictment was unsealed, Deo transferred Surrey property assets to a sister and brother-in-law for one dollar and natural love and affection. [3]
Punjabi-origin Vancouver cop Kal Dosanjh's arrest stirs Canadian community
The arrest of Kalwinder 'Kal' Dosanjh, a Punjabi-origin Vancouver police officer, has attracted significant attention within Canada and has been reported by The Tribune, an established Indian newspaper with strong readership among the Punjabi community in India and internationally. The Tribune published a profile examining who Dosanjh is and explaining why his arrest has created a stir in Canada. Dosanjh goes by the name Kal and was identified by The Tribune as a Vancouver cop with Punjabi origins. The newspaper described the arrest as having created a stir across Canada, indicating that the case attracted coverage and discussion beyond the immediate Vancouver context. The Punjabi community has a substantial and long-established presence in Vancouver and the broader Lower Mainland, making the arrest of a Punjabi-origin member of the Vancouver police force a matter that many within the community have followed closely. The Tribune regularly covers stories of significance to the Punjabi diaspora in Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries. Its coverage of the Dosanjh case, framed around the officer's Punjabi identity and the stir the arrest caused in Canada, reflects the story's resonance for diaspora readers. The full name of the officer involved is Kalwinder Dosanjh, known as Kal Dosanjh, whose arrest became the subject of The Tribune's reporting on the case and its implications for the Canadian Punjabi community. [1]
Sources: [3] The Bureau | Sam Cooper · [1] The Tribune