Baltej Singh, a 33-year-old businessman, has been identified as the mastermind behind New Zealand’s largest-methamphetamine importation operation on 28th March (Saturday), reported Stuff. He had been awarded 22 years in prison by High Court of Auckland in February 2025. He is the nephew of Satwant Singh, one of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s killers.
It was earlier alleged that he and his family would be in danger if his name was revealed. The court initially acknowledged these claims deciding that the public interest in transparent justice was outweighed by the risk present to the safety of the convict’s family. However, the New Zealand government filed an appeal, and the court overturned the order in November after concluding that there was a “significant public interest” in identifying the guy who had brought an unprecedented number of drugs into the country.
The name suppression orders issued by the courts were in place for many years. However, the judges eventually determined that the open justice principle trumped those reservations, particularly since his identity had already been well-known worldwide. They stated that anyone seeking retribution related to the 1984 assassination would probably already be aware of his identity.
“That public interest and the principles of open justice are not outweighed by the very low risk (if any) of harm to his family given the underlying reason for any threats or harm that may exist,” the court pronounced. Singh has dropped his demand for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Singh’s family relocated to New Zealand in the 1980s and he was involved in pro-Khalistan activities. His other uncle was also close to incarcerated separatist MP Amritpal Singh. Moreover, their connections to Indira’s shooter were widely known in Auckland’s Indian community.
The drug lord acquired drug-laced kombucha from the United States, Honey Bear beer from Canada and cans of coconut water from New Delhi that contained meth and ephedrine from 2021 to 2023. The thousands of cans and bottles were then brought to a storage unit and unpacked by him and another person, Himatjit Singh Khalon.
The latter was given a sentence of 21 years for drug delivery and manslaughter following the death of 21-year-old young man, Aidan Sagala. He was deemed negligent by the jury for failing to verify that the beer he served the deceased wasn’t one of the 126 out of 24,000 that had meth.
Baltej Singh was apprehended at Auckland Airport while attempting to escape to Dubai, a few days after Sagala passed away. Police executed raids and discovered 700 kilograms of liquid and crystallised meth in an industrial facility and confiscated $130,000 in cash. Interestingly, the reports were cast down as “fake news” by his family members in Punjab.
Notably, the court dismissed Singh’s attempt to argue that he was “forced” to import the drugs. According to New Zealand officials, he was a key player in a global drug-smuggling network that used commercial shipments disguised as beverages to hide methamphetamine. They informed that the operation was intricate and global in nature, involving extensive logistics and concealment strategies, as well as ties across several nations.
