ST. PAUL, MN — Two men were sentenced Friday in federal court for their roles in a human smuggling conspiracy that led to the deaths of four Indian nationals, including two children, during a failed border crossing in January 2022.
Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, an Indian national formerly of Florida, received a 10-year and one-month prison sentence and will be deported following his incarceration. Co-conspirator Steve Anthony Shand, 50, also of Florida, was sentenced to six years and six months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
According to evidence presented at trial in the District of Minnesota, Patel and Shand were part of an international smuggling operation that funneled Indian nationals into Canada using fraudulent student visas, then illegally brought them across the U.S. northern border in subzero conditions. Each individual paid up to $100,000 to be smuggled.
“Patel and Shand endangered thousands of lives for their personal enrichment and are responsible for the deaths of two small children who froze to death on their watch,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
The tragedy occurred on January 19, 2022, during blizzard conditions near the Minnesota-Manitoba border. That morning, U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered Shand with a van stuck in snow and arrested him with two smuggled individuals. Five others emerged from nearby fields, including one who required emergency airlift due to hypothermia. Hours later, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police discovered four bodies—two adults, an 11-year-old girl, and a 3-year-old boy—frozen in a remote field on the Canadian side.
Family froze to death despite warnings of deadly weather
Trial records showed that Shand had sent Patel a screenshot of a blizzard warning the night before the attempted crossing, indicating wind chills below -45 degrees and gusts up to 50 mph. Despite the warning, the smuggling operation continued.
The body of the 3-year-old was discovered wrapped in a blanket with his father’s gloved hand frozen over his face. The family had been part of an 11-person group Patel and Shand were paid to smuggle.
In November, a federal jury convicted both defendants of conspiracy to bring and transport aliens causing serious bodily injury and jeopardizing lives, attempted transportation for financial gain, and aiding and abetting those efforts.
“Every time I think about this case I think about this family—including two beautiful little children—who the defendants left to freeze to death in a blizzard,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick for the District of Minnesota.
Federal authorities said the case underscores the life-threatening risks posed by organized smuggling operations and emphasized continued enforcement along the U.S.-Canada border.
