Washington: Seventeen individuals have been detained and high-tech weapons used in gang fights have been seized as a result of a month-long federal investigation into Sikh-on-Sikh violence in California between two competing factions, according to US law enforcement authorities.
California attorney general Rob Bonta and Yuba City police chief Brian Baker said the 17 felony arrests were a result of a multi-agency investigation of "rival criminal syndicates" operating throughout Northern California. The groups are alleged to be responsible for numerous violent crimes and shootings, including five attempted murders.
Officials said they were also reportedly involved in shootings at gurdwaras in Sacramento on March 23, 2023, and a Stockton gurdwara on August 27, 2022. Officials added that during the investigation, law enforcement was able to prevent two additional shootings from occurring.
Officials said the violence began in 2018 at the annual Sikh Parade in Yuba City, which has one of the highest concentrations of Sikhs in the US, and which has in the past elected a Sikh mayor and other Sikh officials to the local administration. The violence soon escalated to frequent shootings, including one at a wedding party in 2021.
The warfare attracted attention of the local narcotic and gang enforcement task force, which launched an investigation with assistance from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and various other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, officials said, eventually leading to the crackdown. The joint law enforcement effort, which culminated over the weekend in a large-scale operation with agents executing search warrants at 20 locations, also resulted in the seizure of 41 firearms, officials said.