Two Indians living illegally in US arrested for smuggling cocaine

Two Indians, living illegally in the US, have been arrested by federal authorities for smuggling more than 300 pounds of cocaine inside a semi-truck.

Gurpreet Singh, 25, and Jasveer Singh, 30, were arrested by local authorities in Putnam County, Indiana on January 4 for narcotics trafficking.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said this week that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged arrest detainers for them.

The agency noted that the two men, who entered the US illegally, were arrested for smuggling more than 300 pounds of cocaine inside a semi-truck in Putnam County, Indiana.

Both individuals were given commercial drivers licenses issued by the state of California.

With a lethal dose of cocaine being as little as 1.2 grams, that is enough to kill more than 113,000 Americans, the DHS said in a statement.

Gurpreet Singh had illegally entered the US on March 11, 2023 near Lukeville, Arizona and was released into the country under the Biden administration.

He freely admitted to law enforcement that he was a citizen of India and illegally in the US, the DHS said.

Jasveer Singh illegally entered the US on March 21, 2017 near Otay Mesa, California. He was arrested on December 5 last year for receiving stolen property in San Bernardino, California.

ICE had lodged an arrest detainer. However, the detainer was not honoured and he was released, the statement said criticising the policies of the California Governor Gavin Newsom.

"Thanks to Newsom's reckless policies, these two criminal illegal aliens were granted commercial drivers licenses by the state of California and were arrested for trafficking a whopping 300 pounds of cocaine inside a semi-truck, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin said Newsom and his fellow sanctuary politicians even refused to honour an arrest detainer on one of these individuals in December.

Sanctuary policies put American lives at risk. ICE law enforcement lodged arrest detainers to ensure these drug traffickers are not allowed back into American communities, she said.