Human smugglers sentenced to prison after Indian family froze to death near border
Two men who are part of an international human smuggling conspiracy have received prison sentences after an Indian family-of-four froze to death in Minnesota shortly after being brought across the Canadian border.
Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, was sentenced to 10 years and Steve Shand, 50, received a sentence of more than six-and-a-half years for their involvement in a smuggling scheme that resulted in the deaths of Jagdishkumar and Vaishaliben Patel, 39 and 37, and their children Vihangi, 11, and Dharmik, 3.
The family was found in northern Minnesota about 40 feet from the Canadian border on Jan. 19, 2022. All four died from exposure to the cold.
Per the U.S. Attorney's Office of Minnesota, Harshkumar Patel and Shand "were involved in a major human smuggling operation" bringing Indian nationals into Canada on fake student visas, and then smuggling them across the border into the U.S.
The court heard that Patel handled the smuggling from Manitoba into the U.S., with Shand picking them up after they crossed into the U.S. before bringing them to Chicago. Both men were paid for this, with the "going rate" to be smuggled from India to the U.S. an estimated $100,000.
The Patel family was among a group of 11 being smuggled into the U.S. by Shand and Patel during a January blizzard.
As the blizzard raged, Shand's van got stuck in the snow, with the group "forced to travel on foot" for around seven hours in -36F wind chills as they looked for Shand.
Two found the van, but the others remained missing. Five were found by authorities, one of them suffering from severe hypothermia that required her to be flown to Regions Hospital in St. Paul. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police found the Patel family, who had become separated from the larger group overnight.
"Every time I think about this case I think about this family – including two beautiful little children – who the defendants left to freeze to death in a blizzard," said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. "As we've seen time and time again, human traffickers care nothing for humanity. I am proud of the work of our law enforcement partners in holding these defendants accountable for their unspeakable crimes."
During sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim said the family died on "one of the coldest nights of the winter," and argued Patel and Shand "could have done something" that might have made a difference.
The pair were found guilty by a federal jury of multiple charges in November, including conspiracy to bring aliens to the Unites States causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.
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