CHANDIGARH: Kawal Preet Singh (50), an Indian national hailing from Punjab, has been charged with distributing drugs (methamphetamine) from a pizza outlet in California.
A statement by the US Department of Justice said that a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Kawal, charging him with distribution of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, Kawal sold wholesale quantities of methamphetamine from a Round Table Pizza restaurant he operated in Dinuba.
An investigation into Indian organised crime in the Central Valley identified Kawal as having played a major role.
On August 18, federal agents searched Kawal's home and business spots. They seized more than 40 pounds of methamphetamine, three firearms and more than $10,000 in cash.
If convicted, Singh faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, for drug trafficking and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, up to life in prison, for possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account several variables.
The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the probe.
The case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, which is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organisations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.