Trial begins in human smuggling case after family froze to death trying to cross border
Nearly three years after a couple from India and their two young children froze to death while trying to cross the border from Canada into the U.S., two men on Monday will face trial on human smuggling charges, accused of being part of a criminal network that stretched around the world.
Nearly three years after a couple from India and their two young children froze to death while trying to cross the border from Canada into the U.S., two men on Monday will face trial on human smuggling charges, accused of being part of a criminal network that stretched around the world.
Prosecutors say Indian national Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, ran part of the scheme and recruited Steve Shand, 50, of Florida, to shuttle migrants across the border. Both men have pleaded not guilty in federal court in Minnesota. They will stand trial before U.S. District Judge John Tunheim, with proceedings expected to last about five days.
On Jan. 19, 2022, Shand was allegedly waiting in a truck for 11 migrants, including the family of four from the village of Dingucha in Gujarat state. Prosecutors say 39-year-old Jagdish Patel; his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s; the couple’s 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and 3-year-old son, Dharmik, died after spending hours wandering fields in blizzard conditions as the wind chill reached minus 36 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 38 Celsius).
Prosecutors say when Jagdish Patel’s body was found, he was holding Dharmik, who was wrapped in a blanket.
Patel is a common Indian surname and the victims were not related to Harshkumar Patel. Federal prosecutors say Harshkumar Patel and Shand were part of an operation that scouted clients in India, got them Canadian student visas, arranged transportation and smuggled them into the U.S., mostly through Washington state or Minnesota.
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