The nephew of Indira Gandhi's assassin was the leading figure behind one of New Zealand's most significant drug-running operations, the country's media has revealed.
Baltej Singh, the nephew of Satwant Singh—one of the bodyguards who assassinated Indira Gandhi in 1984—was arrested in 2023, and is currently serving a 22-year sentence for his crimes, but his name had not been revealed to the public due to ongoing litigation about name suppression.
That restriction was recently lifted, and with Singh not planning to challenge it in the Supreme Court, his name can now be published, reported New Zealand news outlet Stuff.
Here's everything we know about him and his drug-running operation.
Who is Baltej Singh?
The nephew of Indira Gandhi assassin Satwant Singh, Baltej wasn't always on the wrong side of the law and was a successful and respected businessman based in Auckland.
However, in 2021, Singh rented an industrial unit and began importing massive quantities of drugs, including ephedrine and methamphetamine.
Stuff reported that in August 2021, Singh imported 1440 cans of coconut water from New Delhi, of which some contained ephedrine—a drug used to make meth—as well as dissolved methamphetamine.
Months after this initial shipment, Singh imported another pallet of coconut water cans from New Delhi via Dubai, some of which contained ephedrine and meth.
This continued in 2022 as well: in October, a 40-foot container containing nearly 30,000 cans of Honey Bear lager beer arrived from Toronto, and a couple of months later, in December, another 40-foot container with 22,680 bottles of kombucha arrived from the US.
The two shipments were collected by Singh in January 2023 and delivered to his rented unit.
Around the same time, Singh joined hands with another man—Himatjit 'Jimmy' Singh Kahlon—for distribution purposes.
The death of 21-year-old Aidan Sagala from drinking a Honey Bear lager beer—due to "off the charts" readings of meth—sparked investigations.
Sagala had been given the beer by Singh's associate Kahlon, who subsequently scrambled to retrieve other products he had distributed, and was eventually caught, found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Singh, meanwhile, was intercepted by the police at the Auckland airport days after Sagala's hospitalisation.
After arresting the Auckland-based businessman, police also found over $10,000 in cash in his backpack.
Searches of Baltej Singh's rented storage units, meanwhile, revealed 338.6 kg of solid meth and another 428.6 kg of liquid containing an estimated 260-340 kg of the banned drug.
Police also recovered $121,600 from the boot of Singh's Chrysler 300.
During his trial, Singh's lawyer Ron Mansfield KC said that the businessman had been recruited into the drug-running business due to his good reputation, at the behest of someone in India.
While judges acknowledged that Singh was not "at the top of the hierarchy” of the operation, they nonetheless found Singh's claim of being "forced" into importing meth "implausible", and sentenced him to 22 years in prison.
Baltej Singh's name suppression case
Around the time of his arrest, Singh also applied for permanent name suppression to prevent his name from being published, and it was granted by the High Court after his lawyer argued that the Auckland businessman and his family would face extreme danger if he were named.
In support of the appeal, Baltej's father also submitted an affidavit in court declaring that the family had "become notorious" among Sikhs and Hindus due to their ties to Indira Gandhi's assassin, and were subject to constant threats and intimidation.
However, the High Court decision was opposed by the Crown in November 2025, and the Court of Appeal ruled in the Crown's favour, allowing the naming of Baltej Singh.
While Singh had initially planned to appeal this decision in New Zealand's Supreme Court, he has since withdrawn said effort, Stuff reported.
