Trial begins in human smuggling case after freezing of deaths of Indian family at Canada-US border

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. – A criminal network stretching from India to Canada made money by trafficking families seeking a better life in the United States man who died while holding his 3-year-old son in the heavy snow and frigid temperatures of two years ago, federal prosecutors plan to argue during a trial that begins Monday in Minnesota.

Prosecutors have charged the Indian national Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel29, of executing the scheme and Steve Shand50, from Florida of waiting in a truck for 11 migrants, including the couple and two children who died after trying to cross the border into the US

Prosecutors say Patel recruited Shand at a casino near their homes in Deltona, Florida, just north of Orlando.

Jagdish Patel, 39, died along with his wife Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s, and their 11-year-old daughter Vihangi and their 3-year-old son Dharmik. Patel is a common Indian surname and the victims were not related to Harshkumar Patel, who did pleaded not guiltyjust like Shand.

The family, from the village of Dingucha in the state of Gujarat, is said to have wandered in the fields for hours in snowstorms as the wind chill reached minus 36 Fahrenheit (minus 38 degrees Celsius). Canadian authorities I found the frozen bodies of the Patels on the morning of January 19, 2022. Jagdish Patel was holding Dharmik, who was wrapped in a blanket.

Federal prosecutors say Patel and Shand were part of an operation that scouted clients in India, secured them Canadian student visas, arranged transportation and smuggled them into the U.S., mainly through Washington state or Minnesota.

US Border Patrol arrested more than 14,000 Indians at the Canadian border in the year ending September 30. In 2022, the Pew Research Center estimated that there were more than 725,000 Indians living illegally in the US, behind only Mexicans and El Salvadorans.

Harshkumar Patel’s attorney, Thomas Leinenweber, told The Associated Press that his client came to America to escape poverty and make a better life for himself and is now “wrongfully accused of participating in this terrible crime. He has faith in the justice system of his adopted country and believes the truth will be revealed during the trial.” Attorneys for Shand did not return messages.

Court documents filed by prosecutors show Patel was in the U.S. illegally after being denied a U.S. visa at least five times.

According to court documents, Patel and Shand communicated frequently over a five-week period over the bitter cold as they smuggled five groups of Indians across a quiet stretch of border. One evening in December 2021, Shand messaged Patel that it was “totally cold” while waiting to pick up a group, the documents said.

“Will they still be alive when they get here?” he reportedly wrote.

During the last trip in January, Shand had sent Patel a message saying, “Make sure everyone is dressed for the snowstorms,” prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say Shand told investigators that Patel paid him about $25,000 for the five trips.

Jagdish Patel grew up in Dingucha. He and his family lived with his parents. According to local news reports, the couple was a teacher.

Satveer Chaudhary is a Minneapolis immigration attorney who has helped migrants exploited by motel owners, many of them Gujarati. He said smugglers and shady business interests promised many migrants an American dream that does not exist upon arrival.

“The promises of the almighty dollar lead many people to take unwarranted risks with their own dignity, and, as we discover here, with their own lives,” Chaudary said.