2 Indians arrested in the US for smuggling cocaine 'enough to kill more than 1,13,000 Americans'

Two Indian nationals were arrested in the United States for allegedly smuggling more than 300 pounds of cocaine hidden inside a semi-truck in Indiana, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on January 5.

The duo was arrested during a routine truck inspection that led to the discovery of 309 pounds of cocaine in the semi-truck's sleeper berth.

After their arrest by local authorities at Putnam County in Indiana, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 4 lodged detainers for Gurpreet Singh (25) and Jasveer Singh (30).

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“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 release read.

Driver's license issued by California

The DHS reported that both the individuals were granted their driver's license by the state of California.

Calling the policies of California Governor Gavin Newsom "reckless", Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that Gavin's sanctuary policies were putting American lives at risk.

“Thanks to Gavin Newsom’s reckless policies, these two criminal illegal aliens were granted commercial driver’s licenses by the state of California and were arrested for trafficking a whopping 300 pounds of cocaine inside a semi-truck," McLaughlin said.

“Gavin Newsom and his fellow sanctuary politicians even refused to honour an arrest detainer on one of these criminal illegal aliens in December," DHS quoted McLaughlin as saying.

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About the arrested duo

25-year-old Gurpreet Singh illegally entered the United States on March 11, 2023, near Lukeville in Arizona. However, under the Biden administration, he was later released in the US. According to DHS, Gurpreet admitted that he entered the US illegally and that he was an Indian citizen.

30-year-old Jasveer Singh entered the US on March 21, 2017 near Otay Mesa in California. On December 5, 2025, he was arrested in California on charges of receiving stolen property. Although ICE lodged an arrest detainer at that time, but the DHS said it was not honoured which led to his release.