Two men were convicted this week in a human smuggling case involving a family that froze to death at the U.S.-Canada border.
The Conviction
Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, an Indian national known by the alias "Dirty Harry," and Steve Shand, 50, a Florida resident, were involved in a sophisticated smuggling operation responsible for a growing influx of Indian nationals into the United States, according to prosecutors.
Both Patel and Shand were convicted on four charges related to human smuggling, including conspiracy to unlawfully bring migrants into the United States.
"This trial exposed the unthinkable cruelty of human smuggling and of those criminal organizations that value profit and greed over humanity," Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said following the conviction.
"To earn a few thousand dollars, these traffickers put men, women and children in extraordinary peril leading to the horrific and tragic deaths of an entire family. Because of this unimaginable greed, a father, a mother and two children froze to death in sub-zero temperatures on the Minnesota-Canadian border," Luger added.
The men face potential maximum sentences of up to 20 years for the first two charges, 10 years for the third, and five years for the fourth, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Prior to the trial, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger stated that several factors would influence the sentencing recommendations.
The Case
Federal prosecutors revealed that Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife Vaishaliben, in her mid-30s, their 11-year-old daughter Vihangi, and 3-year-old son Dharmik froze to death on January 19, 2022, while attempting to cross the U.S.-Canada border into Minnesota. The fatal journey was part of a smuggling scheme orchestrated by Harshkumar Patel and Steve Shand. Authorities clarified that the victims, sharing the common Indian surname Patel, were not related to Harshkumar Patel.
The federal trial in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, concluded Friday with a jury conviction after hearing testimony from a range of witnesses, including an alleged member of the smuggling ring, a survivor of the perilous northern border crossing, border patrol agents and forensic experts.
The defense teams for Patel and Shand clashed during the trial, each seeking to deflect blame. Shand's attorneys argued that he was unknowingly drawn into the smuggling operation by Patel. Meanwhile, Patel's lawyers, according to The Canadian Press, claimed their client was misidentified, asserting that "Dirty Harry," the nickname linked to Patel in Shand's phone, referred to someone else. They also pointed to bank records and testimony from witnesses near the border, which they argued failed to directly connect Shand to the crime.
Prosecutors described Patel as the coordinator of the smuggling operation and Shand as the designated driver. Shand's role, they argued, was to collect 11 Indian migrants who had crossed the Canadian border into Minnesota on foot. However, only seven survived the treacherous journey. Canadian authorities discovered the frozen bodies of two parents and their young children the following morning.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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