AI Generated Summary
- According to the court documents, he sourced methamphetamine and other narcotics from South American suppliers, while relying heavily on Chinese precursor chemicals to manufacture meth on an industrial scale.
- Sian, a well-known figure in Vancouver’s violent gang scene and believed to have ties to Khalistani extremist circles, allegedly collaborated with international criminal syndicates, including the Irish Kinnehan cartel, Italian mafia families, and Mexican drug cartels.
- District Court, Surrey-based gangster Opinder Singh Sian was allegedly at the heart of a massive transnational drug conspiracy, importing precursor chemicals from China and funneling narcotics through Los Angeles to Australia.
New revelations from U.S. court documents are raising alarm over the growing nexus between Chinese chemical suppliers, Pakistani intelligence-linked networks, and Khalistani gangsters operating out of British Columbia.
According to an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court, Surrey-based gangster Opinder Singh Sian was allegedly at the heart of a massive transnational drug conspiracy, importing precursor chemicals from China and funneling narcotics through Los Angeles to Australia. The operation has exposed how Vancouver’s criminal underworld has become a strategic hub for global organized crime, with links stretching from Turkey to Mexico—and possibly extending into Pakistan’s ISI-backed Khalistani networks.
Sian, a well-known figure in Vancouver’s violent gang scene and believed to have ties to Khalistani extremist circles, allegedly collaborated with international criminal syndicates, including the Irish Kinnehan cartel, Italian mafia families, and Mexican drug cartels. According to the court documents, he sourced methamphetamine and other narcotics from South American suppliers, while relying heavily on Chinese precursor chemicals to manufacture meth on an industrial scale.
China’s Chemical Pipeline
Investigators allege that a Chinese national, Peng Zhou, played a crucial role in supplying precursor chemicals directly from China, using his trucking company to transport them to Los Angeles before they were shipped globally. Law enforcement sources quoted by Global News have repeatedly warned that China’s loosely regulated chemical industry has become the backbone of synthetic drug production worldwide.
A former military intelligence operator, Scott McGregor, described Vancouver as “the centre of gravity for hybrid warfare for transnational organized crime in North America,” calling it “a cross between Dubai and Miami.” Security experts believe China’s involvement in such operations is not merely commercial but could also serve as a tool of grey-zone warfare, destabilizing Western nations through the drug trade.
Khalistan and ISI Links Suspected
While the court documents do not explicitly name Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Canadian intelligence sources have long warned that ISI-backed networks exploit Canada’s large Punjabi diaspora for both Khalistani extremism and organized crime. Sian, who survived multiple assassination attempts in 2008 and 2011, was reportedly associated with Vancouver-based gang networks known to recruit from pro-Khalistan circles.
These networks, experts say, often double as fundraising arms for extremist groups while simultaneously running lucrative drug and extortion rackets. The ISI has historically used such networks for influence operations in Canada, leveraging drug money to finance separatist propaganda.
The DEA Sting
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Group 48 (HIDTA 48) began tracking Sian in 2022 after receiving a lead from its office in Turkey. A confidential source posing as an international drug transporter arranged several meth shipments with Sian, including:
- 30 pounds on June 22, 2023
- 200 pounds on July 6, 2023
- 100 pounds on August 21, 2023
- 200 pounds on August 28, 2023
However, the DEA substituted the meth with fake drugs equipped with tracking devices, leading to multiple arrests in Australia.
Sian was arrested in Arizona, and the affidavit was filed in California, though no other conspirators have yet been charged.
Vancouver: A Strategic Battleground
This case underscores Vancouver’s growing role as a staging ground for China-linked chemical smuggling, Mexican cartel distribution networks, and South Asian extremist-financed gangs. Experts warn that unless Canadian authorities crack down on these transnational connections, Vancouver risks becoming an even more entrenched hub for narco-terrorism and hybrid warfare.
