NEW DELHI: In a major breakthrough, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has dismantled a sprawling international drug cartel with connections to the ISI, Chinese operatives, and Canadian networks, culminating in the arrest of notorious Indo-Canadian gangster Opinder Singh Sian, also known as “Thanos.” Sian was operating a global fentanyl and methamphetamine smuggling ring from British Columbia, Canada.
According to court filings reviewed by The Times of India, Sian was taken into custody in Arizona on June 27 after authorities uncovered his role in trafficking meth to Australia and importing fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States via Canada.
The investigation began in 2022, but a recently unsealed affidavit revealed that Sian maintained links with Chinese Communist Party–connected chemical suppliers and had operational ties with Mexico’s infamous Sinaloa cartel. His activities first came under scrutiny following a tip-off from Turkish intelligence, leading the DEA to initiate a covert operation.
Sian was previously identified as a senior member of the ISI-backed ‘Brothers Keepers’ gang—a violent criminal group comprising primarily Indo-Canadian members, many originally from Punjab. The gang is known not only for its involvement in drug and arms trafficking, extortion, and homicides but also for supporting Khalistani separatist causes. Members have participated in rallies glorifying figures such as Talwinder Singh Parmar, the mastermind behind the 1985 Air India bombing.
Canadian authorities have long suspected the Brothers Keepers of large-scale trafficking in cocaine, MDMA, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. Sian’s violent criminal history includes surviving multiple assassination attempts, including a 2008 shooting that left his associate Gurpreet Sidhu dead and another attempt on his life in 2011.
The DEA affidavit revealed that in 2023, Sian facilitated a meeting in Vancouver between a DEA undercover source, codenamed “Queen,” and Chinese national Peter Peng Zhou. Zhou, who ran a trucking business with an Indo-Canadian partner, claimed he could import large quantities of fentanyl precursors from China and transport up to 100 kilograms monthly to Los Angeles using his fleet.
Sian coordinated logistics through the encrypted messaging app Threema and conducted at least four methamphetamine drops—totaling over 500 pounds—in Southern California before being apprehended.
As the DEA expanded its investigation, agents uncovered a transnational network stretching from Turkey to Dubai. The operation also linked Sian to the infamous Kinahan crime syndicate, a powerful Irish cartel with suspected ties to Hezbollah.
Authorities are now working to dismantle the broader network, which is believed to be one of the most dangerous and far-reaching drug trafficking rings involving Indian-origin gangsters abroad.
