PHILADELPHIA, PA — A federal jury convicted Gurlal Singh, 31, of possessing more than five kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute and illegally possessing a firearm, exposing him to a possible life sentence after a case that prosecutors said involved 28 kilograms — more than 60 pounds — of cocaine.
Singh, an Indian national who prosecutors said was residing illegally in the United States, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and possession of a firearm by an alien illegally and unlawfully in the country.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 7. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said he faces a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment.
The case stemmed from an Aug. 28, 2024, response to Singh’s residence in Bethel Township, Berks County, following a reported shooting connected to a home invasion, according to federal prosecutors.
Pennsylvania State Police troopers from the Hamburg Barracks and Bethel Township police officers arrived at about 1:17 a.m. and secured the property. During a safety sweep, authorities located an AK-47-style rifle near the front door as well as a fired cartridge casing and projectile on the first floor, prosecutors said.
Investigators obtained a state search warrant later that day. The subsequent search uncovered cocaine, kilogram-size wrapping materials and a black digital scale, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Evidence presented at trial established that Singh and another person possessed 28 kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute between April 2024 and Aug. 28, 2024, prosecutors said.
The cocaine was initially stored at Singh’s Bethel Township residence in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania before Singh and the other person moved it to a storage facility in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, according to the government. The other person has been charged separately.
Prosecutors also said Singh possessed and discharged the AK-47-style rifle at his residence and possessed two shotguns, a pistol and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. His immigration status prohibited him from lawfully possessing firearms, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Singh had been charged in a superseding federal indictment in September 2025.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration and Pennsylvania State Police investigated the case with assistance from the Bethel Township Police Department and Berks County District Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rosalynda M. Michetti and Josh Davison are prosecuting the case.
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