FERGUS FALLS, Minn. –
Jurors began deliberations Friday in the trial of two men accused of human smuggling across the Canada-U.S. border between Manitoba and Minnesota.
They are tasked with deciding whether to convict or acquit Steve Shand and Harshkumar Patel on four charges.
The prosecution says the two men were part of a smuggling ring that saw Indian nationals brought to Canada then made to walk across the border into the U.S.
During one trip on Jan. 19, 2022, a family of four from India froze to death while walking across a remote stretch of the border in a blizzard.
The bodies of Jagdish Patel, 39; his wife, Vaishaliben Patel, 37; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and their three-year-old son, Dharmik, were found in a field in Manitoba just metres from the border. They were not related to the accused.
Shand’s lawyer has said Shand simply picked up people and transported them within the U.S. and was unaware he was doing anything illegal.
Harshkumar Patel’s lawyer has argued the prosecution misidentified Patel and he’s not the same man whose text messages about organizing border crossings were caught by law enforcement.
The trial, which started Monday, heard testimony from investigators, who said Patel paid Shand and the two kept in contact during several smuggling missions.
Some text messages discussed the frigid weather in December of 2021 and January 2022, and others talked about trying to find people who became lost at or near the border.
The trial also heard from one migrant who survived the same crossing with the family who died.
Yash Patel, who is also not related to the accused man with the same last name or those who died, said he was driven in a van with several others to an area in Manitoba near the border.
It was dark and windy, and the driver told everyone to get out and walk in a straight line until they came across a van on the U.S. side, Patel said.
He testified that he walked with the group for about 10 minutes before becoming separated in blinding snow. Five or six hours later, he said, he found the van in the U.S, which was stuck in snow. He got in to warm up.
He was soon taken into custody by border patrol agents, along with the driver — Shand — and another passenger.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2024.
