Harshkumar Patel in Elk River, Minn., and undated photo released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows Steve Shand./THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Accused smugglers put 'profit over people’s lives' with Indian family that died at Canada-U.S. border: prosecutors

Two men on Monday will face trial on human smuggling charges, accused of being part of a criminal network that stretched around the world

by · National Post

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — Two men put financial profit over human life when they attempted to smuggle a couple from India and their two young children across the U.S.-Canada border in heavy snow and bone-chilling winds, leading to the family freezing to death, prosecutors said Monday.

Prosecutors allege Indian national Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, ran part of a sprawling human smuggling scheme and recruited Steve Shand, 50, to shuttle migrants across the border. Both men have pleaded not guilty to four federal counts related to human smuggling. Their trial in Minnesota is expected to last about five days.

Trial to start Monday for two men after Indian family froze to death crossing the Canada-U.S. borderMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — On the last night of their lives, Jagdish Patel, his wife and their two young children tried to slip into the U.S. across a near-empty stretch of the Canadian border.Michael Goldberg And Ryan J. Foley, 16 Nov 2024Smuggling suspect knew of frigid cold before Indian family's death on Canada border, prosecutors sayMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man accused of helping smuggle people across the U.S.-Canadian border had been warned of blizzard conditions before he arranged for four members of an Indian family to cross in 2022, prosecutors allege. The parents and two young children froze to death.Steve Karnowski, 27 Mar 2024