FRESNO – A man has been federally indicted after it was discovered that a Round Table Pizza he was operating in Dinuba was serving up more than pies.
According to a Sept. 3 announcement from U.S. Attorney Eric Grant, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Kawal Preet Singh, 50, an Indian national unlawfully present in the U.S. The indictment charged Singh with distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
As reported by the attorney’s office, court documents stated that Singh sold wholesale quantities of methamphetamine from a Round Table Pizza restaurant he operated in Dinuba, while armed with illegal firearms. The documents further stated that an investigation into Indian organized crime in the Central Valley identified Singh as a subject of the investigation.
On Aug. 18, federal agents searched Singh’s home and business and seized more than 40 pounds of methamphetamine as well as three firearms and more than $10,000 in cash, according to the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert L. Veneman‑Hughes is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Singh faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million for drug trafficking, as well as a mandatory minimum of five years in prison — consecutive to any other sentence — up to life in prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of applicable statutory factors and the federal sentencing guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
The announcement noted that charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. According to the announcement, the HSTF is “dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.”
The Central Valley HSTF is composed of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service and IRS Criminal Investigation with the prosecution being led by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
