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2 men convicted of charges related to human smuggling

By MARK VANCLEAVE and MICHAEL GOLDBERG

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — Two men have been convicted by a Minnesota jury of charges related to human smuggling for participating in a scheme that led to the deaths of an Indian family who froze while trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border during a 2022 blizzard, according to a prosecution spokesperson.

Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, an Indian national who prosecutors say went by the alias “Dirty Harry,” and Steve Shand, 50, an American from Florida, were part of a sophisticated illegal operation that has been bringing increasing numbers of Indians into the U.S, prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutors said a family of four — 39-year-old Jagdish Patel; his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and 3-year-old son, Dharmik — froze to death Jan. 19, 2022, while trying to cross the border into Minnesota in a scheme organized by Patel and Shand. Patel is a common Indian surname, and the victims were not related to Harshkumar Patel.

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Before the jury’s conviction on Friday, the federal trial in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, saw testimony from an alleged participant in the smuggling ring, a survivor of the treacherous journey across the northern border, border patrol agents and forensic experts.

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