Eight men were taken into custody after joint SWAT teams swept through five locations in California’s San Joaquin County in the early hours of 11 July. Announcing the operation, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said, “On July 11, 2025, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office AGNET Unit—alongside the Stockton Police Department SWAT Team, Manteca Police Department SWAT Team, Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team, and the FBI SWAT Team—executed five coordinated search warrants across San Joaquin County as part of a gang-related kidnapping and torture investigation.”
Those arrested have been named as Dilpreet Singh, Arshpreet Singh, Amritpal Singh, Vishal, Pavittar Singh, Gurtaj Singh, Manpreet Randhawa, and Sarabjit Singh, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
All eight suspects were booked into the San Joaquin County Jail on multiple felony counts that include kidnapping, torture, false imprisonment, conspiracy, witness intimidation, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, making criminal threats, and felony gang enhancement.
🚨Eight Arrested in Gang-Related Kidnapping Case🚨
On July 11, 2025, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office AGNET Unit—alongside the Stockton Police Department SWAT Team, Manteca Police Department SWAT Team, Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team, and the FBI SWAT… pic.twitter.com/apSFibsioX
— San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office (@SJSheriff) July 12, 2025
India Today, citing Indian intelligence officials, reported that all eight detainees are believed to belong to a gangster-terror network with roots in Punjab. Among them, Pavittar Singh Batala is wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly carrying out terror operations for the banned outfit Babbar Khalsa International; the NIA filed a chargesheet against him in June.
FBI Seizes Guns, Cash From 8 Khalistanis Amid ‘Summer Heat’ Crackdown
Additional weapons charges—for possession of a machine gun, illegal assault weapon possession, manufacturing or selling high-capacity magazines, building a short-barrelled rifle, and carrying a loaded unregistered handgun—were also filed. Officers recovered five handguns (one a fully automatic Glock), an assault rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, high-capacity magazines and more than US $15,000 (about ₹12.5 lakh) in cash during the searches, the statement added.
The Sheriff’s Office stressed that the takedown forms part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Summer Heat initiative, a nationwide push targeting violent gang members. “Summer Heat reflects Director Patel’s commitment to the American people to crush crime and restore safety in neighbourhoods across the country,” the statement said.
Local authorities praised the “professionalism and precision” of their partner agencies and reiterated their pledge to keep communities safe through continued collaboration.
