FBI 'Punjab gang suspect tried to flee to Canada before arrest'

The FBI arrested alleged Punjab gang member Nitish Kaushal less than a mile from the Canadian border after he allegedly spent days evading federal agents, abandoned a mobile phone being tracked by investigators and attempted to conceal his identity with a fake New Jersey driver’s licence, according to newly filed US court documents.

Kaushal, an Indian national also known by the alias “Lala”, was arrested on July 16 in Alburgh, Vermont, after becoming one of the FBI’s Most Wanted fugitives. Federal prosecutors



have now asked a court to keep him behind bars pending trial, arguing that he poses both a danger to the community and a serious flight risk.

The new filings, copies of which were obtained by media, provide the first detailed account of the circumstances surrounding Kaushal’s arrest and expand on allegations that he was part of a sprawling transnational organised crime syndicate with roots in Punjab, accused of murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, extortion, firearms trafficking, money laundering and human smuggling.