Washington: A jury convicted two men of charges related to human smuggling for their roles in an international operation that led to the deaths of a family of Indian migrants who froze while trying to cross the Canada-US border during a 2022 blizzard, according to a prosecution spokesperson. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, an Indian national who prosecutors say went by the alias “Dirty Harry”, and Steve Shand, 50, an American from Florida, were part of a sophisticated illegal operation that has brought increasing numbers of Indians into the US, prosecutors said.
They were each convicted on four counts related to human smuggling, including conspiracy to bring migrants into the country illegally. “This trial exposed the unthinkable cruelty of human smuggling and of those criminal organisations that value profit and greed over humanity,” said Minnesota US Attorney Andy Luger.
How did a Gujarat family fall prey?
Federal prosecutors said 39-year-old Jagdish Patel; his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and 3-year-old son, Dharmik, froze to death January 19, 2022, while trying to cross the border into Minnesota in a scheme organised by Patel and Shand. Patel is a common Indian surname, and the victims were not related to Harshkumar Patel.
Before the jury's conviction on Friday, the federal trial in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, saw testimony from an alleged participant in the smuggling ring, a survivor of the treacherous journey across the northern border, border patrol agents and forensic experts.
Defence attorneys were pitted against each other, with Shand's team arguing that he was unwittingly roped into the scheme by Patel. Patel's lawyers, The Canadian Press reported, said their client had been misidentified. They said “Dirty Harry”, the alleged nickname for Patel found in Shand's phone, is a different person. Bank records and witness testimony from those who encountered Shand near the border don't tie him to the crime, they added.
Prosecutors said Patel coordinated the operation while Shand was a driver. Shand was to pick up 11 Indian migrants on the Minnesota side of the Canadian border, prosecutors said. Only seven survived the foot crossing. Canadian authorities found two parents and their young children later that morning, dead from the cold.
Illegal immigration from India
The pipeline of illegal immigration from India has long existed but has increased sharply along the US-Canada border. The US Border Patrol arrested more than 14,000 Indians on the Canadian border in the year ending Sept. 30, which amounted to 60% of all arrests along that border and more than 10 times the number two years ago. By 2022, the Pew Research Center estimates more than 725,000 Indians were living illegally in the U.S., behind only Mexicans and El Salvadorans.
Jamie Holt, a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations, said the case is a stark reminder of the realities victims of human smuggling face. “Human smuggling is a vile crime that preys on the most vulnerable, exploiting their desperation and dreams for a better life,” Holt said. “The suffering endured by this family is unimaginable and it is our duty to ensure that such atrocities are met with the full force of the law.”
(With inputs from agency)
