The Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Matthew Podolsky, along with officials from the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, announced charges against seven individuals involved in armed drug trafficking conspiracies. The defendants are accused of importing cocaine from Colombia into the United States and distributing it across the country and into Canada.
Since October 2023, Shehnaz Singh, also known as "Shawn," led a group that operated a transnational conspiracy to distribute cocaine. This group included Amritpal Singh ("Amrit" or "Bal"), Amritpal Singh ("Cheema"), Takdir Singh ("Romy"), Sarbsit Singh ("Sabi"), Gurlal Singh, and Fernando Valladares ("Franco"). In April 2024, Romy and Sabi allegedly stole cocaine from their co-conspirators to distribute it independently.
On February 26, 2025, four defendants were arrested. Searches during these arrests resulted in the seizure of firearms and significant quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine. Cheema was apprehended in California; Romy and Sabi were detained in Ohio; Franco was arrested in New York but released under conditions. Amrit and Gurlal are already in custody in Pennsylvania, while Shawn remains at large.
Podolsky stated: “For more than a year, Shehnaz Singh and his associates not only imported dangerous drugs to sell across the United States but also armed themselves with deadly weapons.” He commended law enforcement efforts to disrupt this network.
Francis J. Russo from CBP emphasized their commitment to dismantling criminal organizations: “We will not stop until networks such as this one...are off the street.”
The indictment details allegations that Shawn's organization used trucking networks for drug distribution throughout various U.S. states and Canada. The operation moved over 600 kilograms of cocaine weekly.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys William C. Kinder and Justin Horton are leading the prosecution under an OCDETF operation aimed at dismantling criminal organizations through a collaborative approach.
Charges against the defendants include narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses with potential sentences ranging from ten years to life imprisonment.
