US: Punjabi Devils founder jailed

New York: A 27-year-old Indian-origin man who foun­d­ed an outlaw motorcycle gang called Punjabi Devils has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for unlawful dealing of firearms and possession of a machine gun.

Jashanpreet Singh of Lodi, California, was sentenced on Monday by US District Judge Dale Drozd to five years and four months in prison, US Attorney Eric Grant said on Thursday. According to court documents, Singh founded the Punjabi Devils Motorcycle Club, a Stockton-based outlaw motorcycle gang associated with Hells Angels, a California-based global outlaw motorcycle club.

In June last year, Singh tried to sell several weapons to an undercover officer, including a short-barrelled rifle, three assault weapons, three machine gun conversion devices and a revolver. A search of Singh’s residence led to the recovery of more arms, including a machine gun, another machine gun conversion device and a silencer.

Officers recovered a pineapple-style hand grenade and what law enforcement officials believed was a military electronic-capped claymore mine. The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Dept bomb squad destroyed the items at the scene. Later, officers arrested Singh at San Francis­co International Airport befo­re he could flee to India. Singh remains in custody. —PTI