A jury has convicted two men of human smuggling after an Indian family tragically froze to death while attempting to cross the US-Canada border. Harshkumar Patel, 29, an Indian national using the alias “Dirty Harry,” and Steve Shand, 50, an American, were found guilty following a five-day trial in Minnesota. They were part of a larger criminal network helping migrants cross into the United States from Canada.
In January 2022, during a brutal snowstorm with temperatures dropping to -23°C, the family—Vaishaliben Patel, her husband Jagdish, and their two children—got lost and were left stranded. Border patrol agents later discovered the bodies of the family members just meters from the border. The family had entered Canada from India earlier that month, believing they were prepared for the harsh winter conditions.
Smuggler Shand had been spotted multiple times in the area and was pulled over while trying to cross the border. Inside his van, agents found two other migrants, and later, five more people were found wandering, disoriented in the freezing cold. Despite Shand’s claims that no one else was involved, the agents soon discovered the tragic outcome.
The smuggling operation, coordinated by Patel, promised a better life but ended in disaster. Patel had directed the migrants to walk across the border, but the blizzard caused them to get separated, and most of the family perished before they could find shelter. Following the conviction, the case has highlighted the dangers of illegal migration and human trafficking.
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