A federal indictment alleges a Dinuba pizza restaurant operator sold methamphetamine while armed with firearms. Business Journal photo composite

A federal grand jury has indicted a Dinuba restaurant operator on charges of distributing methamphetamine, possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 

Kawal Preet Singh, 50, an Indian national who federal authorities say is unlawfully in the country, was indicted Thursday, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced. 

According to documents, Singh sold wholesale quantities of methamphetamine from a Round Table Pizza restaurant he opened in Dinuba while armed with guns.

The investigation started after investigators identified Singh as a subject in an investigation into Indian organized crime in the Central Valley.

On Aug. 18, agents searched Singh’s home and business and seized more than 40 pounds of methamphetamine, three firearms and more than $10,000 in cash.

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 sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison for the drug trafficking charges, as well as a fine of up to $10 million. The firearm charge carries a mandatory minimum five-year sentence that must be served consecutively to any other sentence, with a maximum of life in prison.