A California pizza restaurant has permanently closed after federal agents allegedly uncovered more than 40 pounds of methamphetamine, three firearms and over $10,000 in cash connected to the business and its operator, according to federal court documents.
Kawal Preet Singh, 50, has been indicted on federal charges of distributing methamphetamine, possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Singh, described in reports as an Indian national who was in the country illegally, was arraigned Thursday and pleaded not guilty. He has not been taken into custody.
The investigation traces back to a tip received in May about a narcotics trafficker allegedly operating in Fresno who was selling and distributing controlled substances. The Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force later identified Singh as a subject of that investigation, according to the FBI. Investigators, per the indictment, developed evidence describing a network of Sikh Indian truck drivers allegedly transporting large quantities of cocaine from Mexico into the United States on behalf of an unspecified Mexican cartel.
“The information identified the narcotics trafficker as ‘Camy’ and described him as a Sikh Indian male involved in long-haul truck driving,” the FBI stated in the indictment. “The suspect worked with a network of other Sikh Indian truck drivers to transport narcotics.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean signed search warrants on Aug. 13 covering Singh, his Dinuba restaurant and his residence. Five days later, on Aug. 18, agents surveilled Singh and approached him after he drove from the restaurant to his home, while investigators simultaneously executed search warrants at the Round Table Pizza location in Tulare.
At Singh’s residence, agents allegedly seized 13.8 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine. Roughly 4.9 kilograms more was allegedly found stuffed into five clear plastic bags inside his Hyundai Sonata, which was parked at the Tulare restaurant. A semiautomatic handgun and $11,800 in cash were also seized, according to court documents. In total, authorities reported recovering more than 40 pounds of suspected meth, three firearms and more than $10,000 in cash across the searches.
Singh allegedly told agents he had not sold methamphetamine for approximately two months but was storing it for a friend.
The Dinuba Round Table Pizza tied to the case has since permanently closed. “The employee involved in the reported incident had worked at this location for approximately one and a half months,” the company told GV Wire in announcing the closure. Erin Mandzik, senior director of corporate communications for Fat Brands, the parent company of Round Table Pizza, told The Fresno Bee that the restaurant was independently owned and operated, that local ownership had no knowledge of the alleged illegal activity before it came to light, and that the owners are fully cooperating with authorities.
Singh has been charged but not convicted, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. The distribution and possession-with-intent charges generally involve allegations that a person knowingly possessed a controlled substance with the purpose of transferring it to others, while a firearm charge “in furtherance of” a drug trafficking crime generally applies when a weapon is alleged to have been used or kept to protect or advance illegal drug activity.
If convicted, Singh faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, along with a fine of up to $10 million, on the drug trafficking counts. The firearm charge carries an additional mandatory minimum of five years, to run consecutive to any other sentence, with a maximum of life in prison.
The case is scheduled to return to court for a status conference on Nov. 4 before Magistrate Judge Boone.
Source: New York Post
