MANTECA, Calif. — An alleged murder-for-hire plot hatched at a Manteca coffee shop ended in the arrest of three Northern California men when they discovered the hitman in contact with them was really an FBI informant.
According to U.S. Attorney's officials, Manteca resident Jagninder Singh Boparai met with an FBI informant who was posing as a hitman in February and offered him $6,000 to assault one victim.
Law enforcement agents then staged a photo with the first victim, having them lay on the ground covered in purported bruising, dirt and blood to indicate they had been assaulted.
Boparai brings in Ramesh Kumar Birla Jr. and Shaminderjit Singh Sandhu for the murder-for-hire plot involving a second victim, U.S. Attorney's officials said.
This time, the FBI informant posing as a hitman was allegedly told their next jobs involved robbing a business and making a person "disappear."
After meeting with the informant to give them $10,000 for the alleged murder-for-hire, law enforcement officials say they arrested all three men—who are now in federal custody.
The three men were charged with conspiracy to use interstate commerce facilities in commission of murder for hire. They have yet to enter a plea.
If convicted, they each face a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
