A federal grand jury has indicted a Dinuba, California, man accused of running a methamphetamine trafficking operation out of a Round Table Pizza restaurant he owned, after investigators say searches of the business and his home turned up more than 40 pounds of suspected meth, three firearms and over $10,000 in cash.
Kawal Preet Singh, 50, was indicted Sept. 4 on charges of distributing methamphetamine, possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Federal authorities describe Singh as an Indian national in the country illegally. He was arraigned and pleaded not guilty, and has not been taken into custody.
How investigators got to Singh
The case traces to a May tip about a narcotics trafficker operating in Fresno. The Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force later identified Singh as a subject of that investigation as part of a broader probe into alleged Indian organized crime in the Central Valley, according to the FBI. Investigators said the tip described a trafficker known as “Camy” — a Sikh Indian man working as a long-haul truck driver who coordinated with other Sikh Indian truck drivers to move narcotics, including cocaine agents allege was transported from Mexico on behalf of a Mexican cartel.
A U.S. magistrate judge signed search warrants Aug. 13 covering Singh, his Dinuba restaurant and his residence. Five days later, agents followed Singh from the restaurant to his home and searched both locations simultaneously. At the residence, agents allegedly seized 13.8 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine. Another 4.9 kilograms were allegedly found split across five plastic bags inside a Hyundai Sonata parked at the Tulare restaurant, along with a handgun and $11,800 in cash.
Singh allegedly told agents he hadn’t sold methamphetamine in about two months but was storing it for a friend.
The restaurant’s fallout
The Dinuba Round Table Pizza has permanently closed. The chain’s parent company said the location was independently owned and operated, that local ownership had no knowledge of the alleged activity before it surfaced, and that the owners are cooperating with investigators. The company noted the employee tied to the case had worked at the location for only about a month and a half before his arrest.
What Singh is facing
If convicted, Singh faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million on the drug trafficking counts, plus a consecutive mandatory minimum of five years, up to life, on the firearm charge. The case is next scheduled for a status conference Nov. 4.
Singh has been charged but not convicted, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Sources: U.S. Attorney’s Office (Eastern District of California), The Business Journal, SJV Sun, GV Wire, The Fresno Bee.
