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Perth Now
15 hours ago
- Perth Now
Family of four dies in blizzard while crossing border
More than three years after a family of four from India froze to death while trying to enter the US 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 US 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 US 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 US 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 January 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 -38C. 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. Police say a backpack full of baby gear uncovered during a human smuggling arrest in Minnesota led them to a devastating discovery near the US-Canada border. Credit: Royal Canadian Mounted Police Manitoba '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 1am, 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.
7NEWS
16 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Convicted head of human smuggling plot gets 10 years after Indian family dies on US-Canada border
More than three years after a family of four from India froze to death while trying to enter the US 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 US 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. The smuggling operation Prosecutors said during the trial that Patel, an Indian national who they say went by the alias 'Dirty Harry', and Shand, a US 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 US 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 January 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 harsh conditions 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 -38C. 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. What prosecutors say '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 1am, 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.' What defence attorneys say 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.
New York Post
3 days ago
- New York Post
Human smuggler sentenced to a decade in prison after family of 4 froze to death on US-Canada border
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 convicted 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, who got 6 1/2 years Wednesday with two years' supervised release. 'The crime in many respects is extraordinary because it did result in the unimaginable death of four individuals, including two children,' U.S. District Judge John Tunheim said. 'These were deaths that were clearly avoidable.' 7 Federal prosecutors had recommended nearly 20 years for Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel (left) AP Patel's attorney, Thomas Leinenweber, told the court before sentencing that Patel maintains his innocence and argued he was no more than a 'low man on the totem pole.' He asked for time served, 18 months. But the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Lisa Kirkpatrick, said Patel exploited the migrants' hopes for a better life in America, out of his own greed. '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 is likely to be deported to his native India after completing his sentence. He cooperated as marshals handcuffed him and led him from the courtroom. 7 Acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Lisa Kirkpatrick, said Patel exploited the migrants' hopes for a better life. AP Shand, who had been free pending sentencing, showed no visible reaction to his own sentence, either. 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. 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. The smuggling operation 7 The Patel family: Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, 37, Vihangi, 11, and Dharmik, 3. RCMP 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, 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 their 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. 7 The family was from Dingucha, a village in the western Indian state of Gujarat, as was Harshkumar Patel. AP Harsh blizzard conditions 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.. 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. What prosecutors say Kirkpatrick told reporters after Wednesday's hearing that as a lifelong Minnesotan, she would not have gone out in that weather. '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. Kirkpatrick pointed out that the family who died had walked for hours trying to find Shand, who had been sent by Patel. 7 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police found their bodies just north of the border between Manitoba and Minnesota on Jan. 19, 2022. AP 'These defendants knew it was cold. In fact, they knew it was life-threatening cold,' she said. 'They didn't care. What they cared about was money, and their callous indifference to the value of human life cost a family of four their lives.' What defense attorneys say Patel's attorney, Leinenweber, said his client will 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,' the attorney 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 afterward. 7 Steve Anthony Shand Leaves court after being sentenced on human smuggling charges on May 28, 2025, in Fergus Falls, Minn. AP Morrison acknowledged in a presentencing filing 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. Human smuggling at the northern border A top regional U.S. Customs and Border Protection official told reporters Wednesday that human smuggling along the border in the area has been holding 'fairly steady,' with no sharp increases or decreases. 7 A border marker, between the United States and Canada is shown just outside of Emerson, Manitoba, on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. AP 'We hope that this is a strong message, and especially during the inclement months,' said Michael Hanson, the acting chief patrol agent for the Grand Forks, North Dakota, sector, which covers North Dakota and Minnesota. 'You know, there very well could have been 11 deaths associated with this event.'
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Indian sentenced in US for human trafficking, involvement in death of family of four
A 29-year-old Indian man was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison by a US District Court in Minnesota on Thursday, following a jury trial, for his alleged role as a co-conspirator in an international human smuggling case in 2022. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, known as 'Dirty Harry', was convicted in the case involving the death of the four members of the Patel family in 2022. The family --- Jagdish Patel (39), Vaishaliben (37) and their children aged 11 and 3 --- froze to death while crossing the Canadian border. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police found their bodies just north of the Manitoba-Minnesota border on January 19, 2022. Patel, convicted by a US court in November 2024, and another accused, Steve Anthony Shand, were paid around $100,000 for smuggling migrants from India into America through Canada. Shand was sentenced to six years and six months in prison. Meanwhile, Patel will be removed from the United States after completing his sentence. 'According to evidence presented at trial, Patel and Shand were part of a large-scale human-smuggling operation that brought Indian nationals to Canada on fraudulent student visas and then smuggled them into the United States across the northern border. Patel organised the logistics of smuggling aliens from Manitoba, Canada, into the United States, with other co-conspirators, and Shand picked up the aliens just south of the Canadian border in the United States and drove them to Chicago,' said a statement issued by the US justice department after Patel and Shand were sentenced. Also Read: How US cops zeroed in on Gujarat's Dirty Harry and his trafficking racket The US prosecutors were able to prove that Patel and Shand disregarded the physical safety of several of these illegal migrants, which led to the deaths of four Indian nationals in January 2022. According to the law enforcement agencies, Patel and Shand attempted to smuggle 11 migrants from Canada into the United States despite freezing weather conditions. America's department of homeland security and the US customs and border protection were responsible for conducting the investigation with assistance from the justice department and Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Also Read: Will the real Dirty Harry please stand up? 'Patel and Shand endangered thousands of lives for their personal enrichment and are responsible for the deaths of two small children who froze to death on their watch. This case demonstrates the grave danger associated with human smuggling operations,' head of the justice department's criminal division Matthew R. Galeotti said. Migration issues featured in high level diplomatic conversations between India and the US on Thursday as India's foreign secretary Vikram Misri met America's deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau.
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Smugglers jailed for leaving Indian family to die in blizzard
The family of four was not found until the Royal Canadian Mounted Police discovered their frozen bodies. (Getty Images/AFP pic) WASHINGTON : Two human traffickers were sentenced today for their roles in a smuggling operation that resulted in the 2022 deaths of four Indian nationals, including a three-year-old and an 11-year-old, the US department of justice said. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, was sentenced to over 10 years in prison for organising logistics and co-conspirator Steve Anthony Shand, 50, was sentenced to over six years for picking up migrants in the US. A jury convicted the duo for their work in a 'large-scale human smuggling operation that brought Indian nationals to Canada on fraudulent student visas and then smuggled them into the US', justice officials said. In January 2022, amid severe weather, Patel and Shand attempted to smuggle 11 Indian nationals from Canada into the US on foot, the DOJ said, adding the recorded wind chill temperature was -37.8°C. A US border patrol agent found Shand's van stuck in the Minnesota snow, where Shand claimed there were no other people stranded out in the cold. But five more people emerged from the fields, including one who was airlifted to a hospital for lifesaving care. Shand was arrested along with two migrants. But the family of four was not found until the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found their frozen bodies in an isolated area in Canada. 'The boy was wrapped in a blanket with his father's frozen glove covering his face,' the DOJ said. '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 US attorney Lisa D Kirkpatrick.
