DEA uncovers ISI–China–Cartel nexus using Canada as narco-terror hub; India warns of global spillover

Surrey gangster Opinder Singh Sian was at the centre of a vast conspiracy to import precursor chemicals from China and export narcotics through the port of Los Angeles to Australia.

A sprawling international narco-terror network has been exposed through a covert operation led by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) at Vancouver Port, unravelling a dangerous alliance of Pakistan’s ISI, Chinese chemical suppliers, and Latin American drug cartels, reports News18. According to top Indian intelligence sources, as cited in the report, the revelations confirm long-standing warnings about Canada’s emergence as a hub for hybrid security threats.

The DEA’s investigation, which began in 2022 and continued through 2023, recently culminated in the unsealing of an affidavit detailing the activities of a British Columbia-based fentanyl trafficking syndicate with deep global connections. At the centre of this operation, per the affidavit and corroborated Indian intelligence, is Indo-Canadian national Opinder Singh Sian, alleged kingpin of the Brothers Keepers gang.

Intelligence officials describe the gang as acting as a “proxy for Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel in Canada," with strong operational ties to Latin American drug mafias and chemical suppliers linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

News18 quoted Indian security officials saying that Sian serves as a “critical intermediary” between ISI handlers in Lahore, Chinese dual-use chemical firms, and transnational drug syndicates. The gang’s operations allegedly go beyond narcotics, with Indian agencies asserting involvement in “funding Khalistani propaganda, arms smuggling, and sleeper cell recruitment in Punjab.”

Vancouver, once a commercial port city, has now turned into a strategic node for narco-terrorism, Indian officials claim. According to intelligence reports, ISI and Chinese actors are exploiting what they describe as Canada’s “permissive legal and political environment” to channel synthetic opioids and launder proceeds through crypto-based hawala systems, NGO fronts, and encrypted networks routed via Dubai, Hong Kong, and Lahore.

In addition, Indian intelligence sources have flagged the Kinahan cartel, an Irish-origin gang now operating out of Dubai, as playing a role in laundering Canadian drug proceeds. This cartel is allegedly linked to Hezbollah’s financing networks, further complicating the operational landscape and exposing connections to black markets in the Middle East.

“The coordinated use of synthetic opioids, chemical precursors, and financial laundering by this ISI–China–Cartel axis constitutes a ‘hybrid threat to national security,’” Indian intelligence sources warn.

So far, more than 40 individuals of Indo-Canadian origin have been identified by Indian security agencies as part of the broader network. These include gurdwara-linked fundraisers, radical content creators, and YouTube influencers, all allegedly contributing to propaganda, recruitment, and logistical support for extremist operations in Punjab, Delhi, and Kashmir.

Intelligence officials emphasise that the findings from the DEA’s operation and India's own inputs represent a serious escalation in transnational narco-terror threats. They have reiterated the urgent need for “tighter international counterterrorism cooperation” to address this complex and evolving threat.