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CNN
2 days ago
- General
- CNN
Convicted head of human smuggling plot gets 10 years after Indian family dies on US-Canada border
FacebookTweetLink Follow More than three years after a family of four from India froze to death while trying to enter the U.S. along a remote stretch of the Canadian border in a blizzard, the alleged ringleader of an international human smuggling plot was sentenced in Minnesota on Wednesday to 10 years in prison. Federal prosecutors had recommended nearly 20 years for Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, and nearly 11 years for the driver who was supposed to pick them up, Steve Anthony Shand. Shand also was to be sentenced Wednesday. The two men appeared before U.S. District Judge John Tunheim, who declined last month to set aside the guilty verdicts, writing, 'This was not a close case.' The judge handed down the sentences at the federal courthouse in the northwestern Minnesota city of Fergus Falls, where the two men were tried and convicted on four counts apiece last November. Prosecutors said during the trial that Patel, an Indian national who they say went by the alias 'Dirty Harry,' and Shand, a U.S. citizen from Florida, were part of a sophisticated illegal operation that brought dozens of people from India to Canada on student visas and then smuggled them across the U.S. border. They said the victims, Jagdish Patel, 39; his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and 3-year-old son, Dharmik, froze to death. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police found their bodies just north of the border between Manitoba and Minnesota on Jan. 19, 2022. The family was from Dingucha, a village in the western Indian state of Gujarat, as was Harshkumar Patel. Patel is a common Indian surname, and the victims were not related to the defendant. The couple were schoolteachers, local news reports said. So many villagers have gone overseas in hopes of better lives — legally and otherwise — that many homes there stand vacant. The father died while trying to shield Dharmik's face from a 'blistering wind' with a frozen glove, prosecutor Michael McBride wrote. Vihangi was wearing 'ill-fitting boots and gloves.' Their mother 'died slumped against a chain-link fence she must have thought salvation lay behind,' McBride wrote. A nearby weather station recorded the wind chill that morning at -36 Fahrenheit (-38 Celsius). Seven other members of their group survived the foot crossing, but only two made it to Shand's van, which was stuck in the snow on the Minnesota side. One woman who survived had to be flown to a hospital with severe frostbite and hypothermia. Another survivor testified he had never seen snow before arriving in Canada. Their inadequate winter clothes were only what the smugglers provided, the survivor told the jury. 'Mr. Patel has never shown an ounce of remorse. Even today, he continues to deny he is the 'Dirty Harry' that worked with Mr. Shand on this smuggling venture — despite substantial evidence to the contrary and counsel for his co-defendant identifying him as such at trial,' McBride wrote. Prosecutors asked for a sentence of 19 years and 7 months for Patel, at the top end of the recommended range under federal sentencing guidelines for his actions. They asked for Shand's sentence to be 10 years and 10 months, in the middle of his separate guidelines range. 'Even as this family wandered through the blizzard at 1:00 AM, searching for Mr. Shand's van, Mr. Shand was focused on one thing, which he texted Mr. Patel: 'we not losing any money,'' McBride wrote. 'Worse, when Customs and Border Patrol arrested Mr. Shand sitting in a mostly unoccupied 15-passenger van, he denied others were out in the snow — leaving them to freeze without aid.' Patel's attorneys, who have argued that the evidence was insufficient, did request a government-paid attorney for his planned appeal. Patel has been jailed since his arrest at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago in February 2024 and claimed in the filing to have no income and no assets. Shand has been free pending sentencing. His attorney called the government's requested sentence 'unduly punitive' and requested just 27 months. The attorney, federal defender Aaron Morrison, acknowledged that Shand has 'a level of culpability' but argued that his role was limited — that he was just a taxi driver who needed money to support his wife and six children. 'Mr. Shand was on the outside of the conspiracy, he did not plan the smuggling operation, he did not have decision making authority, and he did not reap the huge financial benefits as the real conspirators did,' Morrison wrote.
ABC News
3 days ago
- General
- ABC News
People smuggler jailed after Indian family freeze to death on US-Canada border
A man convicted of leading an international human smuggling plot that resulted in a family of four from India freezing to death while trying to cross the United States border from Canada has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Federal prosecutors in the US state of Minnesota had recommended a sentence of almost 20 years for Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, and nearly 11 years for Steve Anthony Shand — the driver who was supposed to pick the family up. Shand was sentenced on Wednesday at the federal courthouse in the north-western Minnesota city of Fergus Falls to six and a half years, with two years of supervised release. During a trial conducted in November prosecutors said Patel, an Indian national who they say went by the alias "Dirty Harry", and Shand, a US citizen, were part of a sophisticated illegal operation that brought dozens of people from India to Canada on student visas and then smuggled them across the border. The victims, 39-year-old Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben, their 11-year-old daughter Vihangi and three-year-old son Dharmik, froze to death, prosecutors told the court. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police found their bodies just north of the border between Manitoba and Minnesota on January 19, 2022. The trial heard from prosecutor Michael McBride that the father died while trying to shield Dharmik's face from a "blistering wind" with a frozen glove. Vihangi was wearing "ill-fitting boots and gloves", while their mother "died slumped against a chain-link fence [and] she must have thought salvation lay behind", Mr McBride wrote. A nearby weather station recorded the wind chill that morning at -38 degrees Celsius. Seven other members of their group survived the foot crossing, but only two made it to Shand's van, which was stuck in the snow on the Minnesota side. One woman who survived had to be flown to a hospital with severe frostbite and hypothermia. Another survivor testified he had never seen snow before arriving in Canada. The family of four was from Dingucha, a village in the western Indian state of Gujarat, as was Harshkumar Patel. Patel is a common Indian surname and the victims were not related to the defendant. The couple were school teachers, according to local news reports. "The crime in many respects is extraordinary because it did result in the unimaginable death of four individuals, including two children," US District Judge John Tunheim said. Patel's attorney, Thomas Leinenweber, told the court before sentencing that Patel maintained his innocence and argued he was no more than a "low man on the totem pole". Mr Leinenweber urged to the court to consider an 18-month jail term, given Patel's time already served behind bars. The acting US attorney for Minnesota, Lisa Kirkpatrick, said Patel exploited the migrants' hopes for a better life in America. "We should make no mistake, it was the defendant's greed that set in motion the facts that bring us here today," she said. Patel, in an orange uniform and handcuffed, declined to address the court. He showed no visible emotion as the sentence was issued. The judge noted that he was likely to be deported to his native India after completing his sentence. He cooperated as marshals handcuffed him and led him from the courtroom. Shand, who had been free pending sentencing, also showed no visible reaction to his own sentence. The judge ordered him to report to prison on July 1 and agreed to recommend that he serve his sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Florida, where he can be near his family. Ms Kirkpatrick told reporters after the sentencing hearing on Wednesday that as a lifelong Minnesotan, she would not have gone out in the weather endured by the Patel family. "But the defendants sent into that weather 11 migrants — Indian nationals who were not dressed appropriately — were ill-prepared for the weather they faced that night," she said. The prosecutor also pointed out that the family died after walking for hours trying to find Shand, who Patel had sent. "These defendants knew it was cold. In fact, they knew it was life-threatening cold," she said. "They didn't care. Harshkumar Patel's attorney said his client would lodge an appeal but declined to speculate on what grounds. "He had kind of resigned himself to the fact that the sentence would be longer than he had hoped," Mr Leinenweber said. "And he's not happy with it. But he does wish to appeal and take advantage of his rights." Shand's attorney, federal defender Aaron Morrison, did not talk to reporters after the sentencing hearing. Mr Morrison acknowledged in a pre-sentencing filing that Shand had "a level of culpability" but argued that his role was limited because he was just a taxi driver who needed money to support his wife and six children. "Mr Shand was on the outside of the conspiracy, he did not plan the smuggling operation, he did not have decision making authority, and he did not reap the huge financial benefits as the real conspirators did," Mr Morrison wrote at the time. A top regional US Customs and Border Protection official told reporters on Wednesday that human smuggling along the border in the area had been "fairly steady," with no sharp increases or decreases. "We hope that this is a strong message, and especially during the inclement months," Michael Hanson, the acting chief patrol agent for the Grand Forks, North Dakota, sector covering North Dakota and Minnesota, said. AP
New York Times
3 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Leader of Smuggling Ring Gets 10 Years After Indian Family Froze to Death
More than three years after a young Indian family froze to death trying to cross into the United States from Canada during a blizzard, a federal judge on Wednesday sentenced the convicted architect of the human smuggling network that they used to a decade in prison. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, a 29-year-old Indian national who lived in Florida, was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison for his role in the operation that ferried Indians into the United States via Canada. He will be deported after serving time, the Justice Department said. His convicted co-conspirator, Steve Anthony Shand, 50, a U.S. citizen from Florida, was sentenced to six years and six months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Prosecutors said during the trial that the men were part of a large-scale criminal operation that arranged for dozens of Indians to enter Canada on fake student visas, and then smuggled them into the United States over land. Mr. Patel orchestrated the logistics with other co-conspirators. Mr. Shand was the driver who met the immigrants south of the Canadian border and transported them to Chicago, according to the Justice Department. It said in a news release that the smugglers had charged $100,000 for passage from India to the United States. For Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife, Vaishali, 37, and their 11-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, the journey in January 2022 ended in tragedy. Royal Canadian Mounted Police found their ice-encased bodies in the desolate borderland between Manitoba and Minnesota. The Patels were part of a group of 11 Indians who had set out from the tiny Canadian town of Emerson with instructions on how to cross the border on foot. They expected to meet on the American side a person who would deliver them to their destination, most likely Illinois, where they had family or friends. But the family was separated from the rest of the group and most likely struggled to stay on course in the dark, buffeted by winds that whipped up blinding snow. The wind chill temperature was minus 36 degrees and lower, and wind gusts were as high as 50 miles per hour during their trek, the Justice Department said. An autopsy determined that the family had died from exposure to the cold. The seven other passengers survived. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, a specialized unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 'The callous disregard for life that led to the tragic deaths of an entire family will not be forgotten,' Jamie Holt, the special agent in charge in St. Paul, Minn., said in a statement on Wednesday. The sentencing took place in the northwestern Minnesota town of Fergus Falls, where a jury convicted the two men last fall of four counts each related to human smuggling, including causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Human traffickers sentenced after family froze to death along US-Canada border
A pair of human traffickers received sentences of 10 and 6.5 years on Wednesday following the deaths of an Indian family, including two children, who froze during a blizzard in 2022 while attempting to illegally cross the northern border into the U.S. from Canada. Announcing the sentences, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim said, "The crime in many respects is extraordinary because it did result in the unimaginable death of four individuals, including two children," according to AP. The outlet reported that Tunheim said, "These were deaths that were clearly avoidable." This follows a jury in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, finding the two, Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, and Steve Shand, 50, guilty on four counts, including conspiracy to bring migrants into the country illegally. Patel, who is an Indian national, received a sentence of nearly 11 years. Shand, a U.S. citizen from Florida, received 6.5 years with two years' supervised release. AP reported that neither of the men showed any emotions as they received their sentences. This follows the 2022 deaths of Jagdish Patel, his wife, Vaishaliben, who were both in their 30s, and their children: daughter Vihangi, 11, and son Dharmik, 3, all of whom froze to death in January 2022 while attempting to illegally cross into Minnesota via an operation coordinated by Patel and Shand. The family members were not related to Patel. The family was among 11 migrants in the same group who made the treacherous crossing to Minnesota that January. After only seven made it across, the family was found dead the next day by Canadian authorities. The seven others, determined to be Indian nationals, were stopped by U.S. Border Patrol in North Dakota near Minnesota. Prosecutors said Patel, who was also known as "Dirty Harry," organized the scheme, and Shand was the driver. Both men were involved in an international smuggling ring that helped Indians illegally cross the border. A Wednesday statement by the U.S. Department of Justice said that the recorded wind chill temperature on the morning of the incident was -36 degrees. AP reported U.S. prosecutor Michael McBride wrote the father died while trying to shield Dharmik's face from a "blistering wind" with a frozen glove. Vihangi was wearing "ill-fitting boots and gloves," and the mother "died slumped against a chain-link fence she must have thought salvation lay behind." The DOJ said that after being discovered with two aliens in his car, Shand claimed there were no others out in the snow. However, five more aliens emerged from the fields, including one suffering hypothermia who was airlifted to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. Another human smuggler, who was part of the ring, testified during the trial that he had made more than $400,000 smuggling more than 500 Indian migrants across the U.S. border and that the migrants usually work low-wage jobs in the U.S. to pay off their debts to the smugglers, which can be as much as $100,000. Commenting on the sentencing, Jamie Holt, special agent in charge of U.S. ICE Homeland Security Investigations St. Paul, said: "Today's sentencing marks a crucial moment of accountability in a case that revealed the harrowing realities of human smuggling." Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick for the District of Minnesota added, "As we've seen time and time again, human traffickers care nothing for humanity." "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 Kirkpatrick. "I am proud of the work of our law enforcement partners in holding these defendants accountable for their unspeakable crimes."
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Smugglers jailed for deaths of Indian family in US-Canada border blizzard
Two men have been sentenced for their role in the deaths of a family from India who froze during a blizzard while trying to cross into the US from Ramanlal Patel and Steve Anthony Shand were convicted last November of human trafficking, criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide not amounting to court in the US state of Minnesota, Patel was sentenced to just over 10 years in prison. Shand was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison. The custodial terms were nearly half of what prosecutors had bodies of Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife Vaishaliben, 37, and their two children, 11-year-old Vihangi and three-year-old Dharmik, were found in January 2022. Authorities said the couple, both schoolteachers, and their children were trying to cross into the US when they were caught in a blizzard, with temperatures as low as -38C (-36F).The family had travelled from their home village in the western Indian state of Gujarat to said the Patels became separated from a larger group of people being family was found in a field in the province of Manitoba by Canadian authorities, just 12m (39ft) from the US said the group had been walking for hours in the freezing cold and were discovered after Shand was stopped by police on the US side of the Ramanlal Patel, an Indian national, was not related to the family. Prosecutors said he was a well-known human trafficker known as "Dirty Harry" and organised a large-scale operation that brought other Indian nationals to Canada on student visas, then smuggled them a US citizen from Florida, was set to pick up the migrants after they crossed the border before driving them to the trial in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, US prosecutor Michael McBride argued that while members of the Patel family were "slowly dying in the freezing cold, Steve Shand sat in his warm van" on the Minnesota side."Harshkumar Patel texted from sunny Florida and did nothing to help," Mr McBride said."For weeks, they knew the cold would kill, but they decided their profit was more important than these human lives," he told the trial exposed the workings of an illegal network funnelling migrants into the United States through the witnesses was Rajinder Pal Singh, a convicted human smuggler who helped move people across the border between British Columbia, Canada's westernmost province, and the north-western US state of US Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick said in a statement after the sentencing: "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. "As we've seen time and time again, human traffickers care nothing for humanity."In 2022, neighbours from the Patels' home village told the BBC that it was common for families in the area to attempt to move to North America in pursuit of better economic opportunities.
