
Canada-ISI-China Narco-Terror Nexus Exposed By DEA; Intel Sources Point To Global Threat
A major international narco-terror network has been uncovered through a sting operation by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) at Vancouver Port, exposing a dangerous nexus involving Pakistani ISI handlers, Chinese chemical suppliers, and Latin American drug cartels. According to top Indian intelligence sources, the operation confirms long-standing concerns about Canada's emergence as a hub for covert hybrid threats.
The DEA investigation, which began in 2022 and extended into 2023, recently led to the unsealing of an affidavit detailing the activities of a British Columbia-based fentanyl trafficking ring with global links. Central to the operation, as per DEA findings and Indian intelligence inputs, is Indo-Canadian national Opinder Singh Sian, alleged leader of the notorious Brothers Keepers gang. Intelligence officials describe the gang as a proxy for Mexico's Sinaloa cartel in Canada, deeply entangled with Latin American cartels and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked chemical suppliers.
Top Indian intelligence officials assert that Sian acts as a critical intermediary between ISI operatives in Lahore, Chinese dual-use chemical companies, and transnational drug syndicates. The gang's activities, according to these sources, are not limited to narcotics but extend to the funding of Khalistani propaganda, arms smuggling, and sleeper cell recruitment in Punjab.
Additionally, Indian intelligence has linked the Irish-origin Kinahan cartel, operating from Dubai, to Hezbollah financing networks that are laundering Canadian drug money into Middle Eastern black markets. These assessments are reinforced by evidence gathered by the DEA, confirming the operational overlap between international crime syndicates and hostile state actors.
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 warns. Agencies have so far identified over 40 Indo-Canadian operatives, including gurdwara-linked fundraisers and YouTube influencers, as part of the wider propaganda and logistical network.
The revelations mark a critical escalation in narco-terror threats and underscore the need for tighter international counterterror cooperation, intelligence officials say.
view comments
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
43 minutes ago
- Time of India
Customs thwart bid to smuggle foreign cigarettes worth 50L
Chennai: Customs sleuths at Chennai airport thwarted attempts to smuggle e-cigarettes and foreign-brand cigarettes worth 50 lakh through postal parcels and have launched a hunt for the suspects. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Based on intelligence, a team of customs officials checked the parcels at the foreign post office at Chennai airport on Monday and seized 10 carton boxes sent from Dubai. Each box, weighing about 25 kg, contained a mix of foreign brand and Indian brand cigarettes. In total, 2.3 lakh cigarette sticks worth 25 lakh were seized. On Wednesday, customs sleuths also seized three carton boxes, each weighing 29 kg, that arrived from Malaysia. Although the consignment was declared as cloth hangers and textiles, customs sleuths found 998 e-cigarettes worth 25 lakh hidden inside. The contraband was seized under sections 110 and 111 of the Customs Act, the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, and the COPTA Act. Although the parcels had different addresses for delivery. Officials said some of them were fake and others said the parcels were not meant for them. Officials suspect that the receivers deliberately provided fake addresses to claim the parcels at the post office in person.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Has China stolen another American defense secret after the F-35 as Salt Typhoon hacks US National Guard for a year?
China faces scrutiny over cyber espionage. A US state's Army National Guard network suffered a breach. The group Salt Typhoon is suspected. Maps and data were stolen. The breach occurred between March and December 2024. Concerns rise about critical infrastructure vulnerability. Beijing denies involvement. The incident raises alarms about cybersecurity. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads What is Salt Typhoon Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads How China allegedly stole F-35 technology for Chengdu J-20 China is once again under scrutiny for cyber espionage, just a year after being accused of stealing F-35 stealth fighter technology through cyber breaches to build its Chengdu J-20. The latest breach surfaced after a Department of Homeland Security memo revealed that a US state's Army National Guard network was thoroughly hacked by a Chinese cyberespionage group nicknamed " Salt Typhoon ."The memo obtained by Property of the People, a national security transparency nonprofit, said the hackers "extensively compromised" the unnamed state Army National Guard's network between March and December 2024 and exfiltrated maps and "data traffic" with counterparts' networks in "every other US state and at least four US territories."The National Guard and the Department of Homeland Security's cyber defense arm, CISA, did not immediately return messages. News of the memo was first reported by NBC Typhoon has emerged as one of the top concerns of American cyber defenders. US officials allege that the hacking group is doing more than just gathering intelligence; it is positioning itself to paralyze US critical infrastructure in the case of a conflict with China. Beijing has repeatedly denied being behind the memo, which said it drew on reporting from the Pentagon, said that Salt Typhoon's success in compromising states' Army National Guard networks nationwide "could undermine local cybersecurity efforts to protect critical infrastructure," in part because such units are often "integrated with state fusion centers responsible for sharing threat information, including cyber threats."According to the internal document obtained by NBC through the national security transparency nonprofit Property of the People via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Salt Typhoon compromised the National Guard, which "likely provided crucial data to Beijing that could facilitate the hacking of other states' Army National Guard units and possibly many of their state-level cybersecurity partners.""If the PRC-associated cyber actors that conducted the hack succeeded in the latter, it could hamstring state-level cybersecurity partners' ability to defend US critical infrastructure against PRC cyber campaigns in the event of a crisis or conflict," the document document further revealed that the yearlong attack, which involved the compromise of a US state Army National Guard's network, collected network configuration and data traffic, as well as "its counterparts' networks in every other US state and at least four US territories, according to a Department of Defense (DOD) report." The breach also included network diagrams and administrator scope of the attack could be beyond bespoke networks into state cyber-defense posture and personal information belonging to state cybersecurity personnel. "Salt Typhoon's success in compromising states' Army National Guard networks nationwide could undermine local cybersecurity efforts to protect critical infrastructure," the document read.'In some 14 states, Army National Guard units are integrated with state fusion centers responsible for sharing threat information, including cyber threats. In at least one state, the local Army National Guard unit directly provides network defense services," it further Typhoon, an advanced persistent threat (APT) linked to the Chinese government, breached the National Guard. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents have revealed that Salt Typhoon is a high-profile cyber-espionage group that has targeted a wide range of victims, mainly in the telecommunications group was found to have breached a number of major telco vendors, such as Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T, predominantly through a Cisco vulnerability."In -, Salt Typhoon used its access to a US state's Army National Guard network to exfiltrate administrator credentials, network traffic diagrams, a map of geographic locations throughout the state, and PII of its service members, according to DOD reporting," the document Chinese Chengdu J-20 is suspected of using stolen F-35 technology after cyber breaches hit Lockheed Martin and an Australian defense contractor. The J-20's Electro-Optical Targeting System looks similar to the F-35's, raising concerns that advanced sensor tech was in 2017, the J-20 features airborne early warning and standoff missile launch and now uses a homegrown WS-15 engine that lets it reach speeds near Mach 2. These incidents show why F-35 subcontractors need strong cybersecurity, as some believe parts of the fighter's design were taken during at least one cyber breach.


The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
ED files charge sheet against Robert Vadra in Shikohpur land deal case
Overall, the ED has named 11 individuals and entities, including Satyanand Yajee and Kewal Singh Virk, directors of Onkareshwar Properties Pvt. Ltd, as accused in the case. The prosecution complaint, the agency's version of the charge sheet, also named the businessman's firm, Sky Light Hospitality, as the accused on the charge of purchasing land from Onkareshwar Properties based on false representation, sources in the agency said. New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Thursday filed a prosecution complaint against Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in a money laundering case linked to a land deal in Shikohpur village of Haryana's Gurugram district, ThePrint has learnt. Based on the investigation's findings, the ED issued attachment orders Wednesday for 43 immovable properties worth Rs 37.64 crore belonging to Vadra and his firms, as well as other accused. The money laundering case stems from an FIR registered by the Haryana Police in September 2018, following allegations that Skylight Hospitality purchased a 3.5-acre land parcel from Omkareshwar Properties at a comnsideration price of Rs 7.5 crore in 2008. It was sold to DLF Universal Limited, a DLF subsidiary, at Rs 58 crore in September 2012. It was alleged in the FIR that Vadra's firm could buy the land only due to the then chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's influence, and later secured a commercial license for the land to develop a residential colony on the parcel. In April, ThePrint had reported that the ED was alleged to have found that the sale deed between Sky Light Hospitality and Omkareshwar Properties for the land parcels was executed without payment of the Rs 7.5 crore stated as the consideration amount in the agreement. The ED sources had suggested that Sky Light Hospitality paid Omkareshwar Properties around Rs 15 crore, suspected to have been received from DLF, which was the land's eventual buyer at a price of Rs 58 crore in 2012. Based on these new findings, the ED had summoned Vadra for questioning and recorded his statement multiple times this year before arraying him as an accused. Later, Vadra's office released a statement to the media, asserting that the proceedings are 'nothing more than an extension of the political witch hunt by the present government.' 'Mr. Robert Vadra is aware of reports suggesting that the Directorate of Enforcement has filed a prosecution complaint naming him as an Accused before the Rouse Avenue Courts, Delhi. As the court is yet to even take cognizance of the matter, Mr. Vadra has not had the opportunity to examine the prosecution complaint,' the statement said. 'As a law-abiding Indian citizen, Mr. Vadra has always and will continue to extend his fullest cooperation to the authorities and he is confident that at the end of it all, the truth will prevail and he will be cleared of any wrongdoing. The present proceedings are nothing more than an extension of the political witch hunt by the present government against Mr. Vadra. Mr. Vadra is looking forward to the opportunity to defend himself and clear his name in court,' it added. This is an updated version of the report with press statement from Robert Vadra's office (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: What's the Gurugram land deal case in which ED has summoned Robert Vadra