FBI Arrests Indian-Origin Gangster Near Canadian Border After Evasion Attempt
Nitish Kaushal, an Indian-origin gangster wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was arrested on July 16 in Alburgh, Vermont, less than a mile from the Canadian border. According to newly filed US court documents, Kaushal spent days evading federal agents, abandoned a tracked mobile phone, and attempted to conceal his identity with a false New Jersey driver's licence.
Kaushal, also known by the alias 'Lala', is a member of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria Organised Crime Group, a transnational criminal enterprise headquartered in India. He was among the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives. Federal prosecutors have now asked a court to keep him behind bars pending trial, arguing that he poses both a danger to the community and a serious flight risk.
The circumstances surrounding Kaushal's arrest expand on allegations that he was part of a sprawling syndicate with roots in Punjab, accused of murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, extortion, firearms trafficking, money laundering, and human smuggling. According to prosecutors, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Kaushal on June 25 on a charge of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy. Authorities attempted to arrest him on July 7 but were unsuccessful.
The detention motion alleges that after the indictment was unsealed, Kaushal abandoned the mobile phone that investigators had been tracking pursuant to a court-authorised warrant and disappeared, prompting the FBI to place him on its Most Wanted list.
Prosecutors allege Kaushal was arrested on July 16 within one mile of the Canadian border after abandoning a vehicle 'just feet' from the border. The filing further states that Canadian law enforcement spotted an individual travelling on foot in Canada before Kaushal was identified again later that morning in Vermont. The filing does not state that the individual seen in Canada was conclusively identified as Kaushal.
According to court documents, a Vermont resident reported seeing a suspicious man on home security cameras looking inside a vehicle and entering a barn. When US Border Patrol agents later encountered Kaushal, prosecutors allege he presented a New Jersey driver's licence bearing another person's name. The government says fingerprint analysis established his true identity and that Kaushal admitted the licence did not belong to him. Prosecutors also included photographs comparing a distinctive lion tattoo documented during the investigation with the tattoo visible after his arrest.
The 44-page federal indictment, a copy of which was obtained by IANS, alleges that Kaushal was one of 15 defendants charged in what prosecutors describe as the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria Organised Crime Group, a transnational criminal enterprise headquartered in India with operations spanning the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The organisation originated in Punjab under the leadership of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, who prosecutors allege was once associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi before establishing a rival criminal network. The organisation expanded internationally and grew to include more than 1,000 members and associates worldwide, including more than 100 in the United States.
The indictment alleges the organisation generated revenue through murder-for-hire contracts, kidnapping, drug trafficking, extortion, firearms trafficking, money laundering, and human smuggling. Members used violence to eliminate rivals, intimidate victims, and protect the organisation's criminal operations. Kaushal is specifically accused of carrying out acts of violence on behalf of the organisation, including an incident on July 10, 2024, where members believed a man had stolen a drug shipment belonging to the group.
