A jury in Minnesota, United States, has convicted Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, and Steve Shand, 50, for their roles in a human trafficking operation that led to the deaths of an Indian family of four near the US-Canada border in 2022, reported The Indian Express.

The family froze to death during a blizzard.

Patel, who goes by the alias “Dirty Harry”, and Shand, a resident of Florida, were found guilty on Friday of four charges including conspiracy to smuggle migrants into the US.

Prosecutors described their operation as part of a growing international network trafficking migrants from India.

“This trial exposed the unthinkable cruelty of human smuggling, where profit is valued over humanity,” Minnesota US Attorney Andy Luger said. “A father, mother and two children lost their lives in sub-zero temperatures because of this greed.”

The family members were Jagdish Patel, 39; his wife Vaishaliben, who was said to have been in her mid-30s; and their two children, 11-year-old Vihangi and three-year-old Dharmik. They were found frozen to death on January 19, 2022, near Emerson in Canada’s Manitoba province.

Originally from Dingucha village in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district, the family was attempting to enter the US illegally and had reportedly paid smugglers to guide them.

Patel coordinated the operation while Shand acted as a driver, according to the prosecutors. Shand was assigned to pick up 11 migrants on the US side of the border in Minnesota, but only seven survived the journey.

The indictment document presented in court described the operation as “organised” and “sophisticated” and alleged that Patel and Shand knowingly facilitated the illegal transport of “aliens” for financial gain “using dangerous means”.

The trial lasted five days and concluded with the jury’s guilty verdict on all counts. Jurors described the circumstances of the family’s death as “heartbreaking” and “brutal”.

The two men were represented by different lawyers, officials said. The defence for Shand claimed he was a victim of Patel’s manipulation and had no knowledge of the smuggling scheme. Patel’s defence argued that it was a “case of mistaken identity,” insisting he was not the “Dirty Harry” named in the investigation.

However, prosecutors produced evidence linking both men to the operation. Patel’s alias appeared in messages found on Shand’s phone detailing their coordination in the smuggling operation.

The exchanges revealed instructions given to 11 Indian migrants to trek from Canada to the Manitoba border, where Shand had been stationed. Prosecutors also presented text messages wherein Shand asked Patel to “make sure they are dressed for the blizzard”.

Rajinder Singh, a man allegedly involved in the operation, in his testimony admitted to making over $400,000 from smuggling more than 500 people across the US-Canada border. Most of them were from Gujarat. Migrants reportedly paid as much as $100,000 each to be smuggled into the US, often financed through informal systems like hawala.

Survivor Yash Patel, 29, recounted his ordeal through a Gujarati interpreter and testified that he had managed to cross into the US and reach Shand’s van before being caught by Border Patrol agents.

Yash described his fear during the crossing and said he “could not forget the family” that disappeared in the storm. He explained that they became separated from the group in the blizzard.

The Canadian authorities found Jagdish’s corpse clutching his three-year-old son, who was wrapped in a blanket decorated with “ducks and stars”. Their daughter’s body was discovered nearby while Vaishali’s was discovered further away, slumped against a fence.

The family was about 12 metres from the border when they succumbed to the freezing conditions, said forensics experts who testified that their clothing was not sufficient to protect them from the extreme weather.

Illegal immigration from India along the US-Canada border has surged in recent years. In the past year alone, more than 14,000 Indian migrants have been detained at the border, representing 60% of all arrests in the area. According to the Pew Research Center, over 725,000 undocumented Indians are estimated to be living in the US. Most are driven by economic pressures and the long wait for a legal pathway to enter the country.

“Smugglers exploit the desperation of the vulnerable, often with devastating consequences,” Homeland Security Investigations agent Jamie Holt was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “The suffering this family endured is a grim example of the human toll.”

Both Patel and Shand face up to 20 years in prison. Their sentencing is expected soon.

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