Two human traffickers have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a deadly smuggling operation that led to the tragic deaths of four Indian nationals, including two young children, in a 2022 blizzard along the US-Canada border. The case, described by prosecutors as “heartbreaking and horrific,” exposed the dangers of cross-border trafficking networks.
According to the US Department of Justice, Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, was sentenced to over 10 years in prison for coordinating logistics in a large-scale smuggling operation. His co-conspirator, Steve Anthony Shand, 50, was sentenced to over 6 years for transporting migrants across the US border.
The jury found that the two men were part of a broader scheme that fraudulently brought Indian nationals to Canada on student visas and then attempted to smuggle them into the United States. In January 2022, amid severe weather conditions with wind chills plummeting to -37.8°C (-36°F), Patel and Shand arranged for 11 individuals to cross the snowy border on foot.
US Border Patrol agents discovered Shand’s van stuck in the snow near Minnesota. Initially, Shand claimed he had no knowledge of others stranded nearby, but five additional people soon emerged from nearby fields one of whom was so severely affected by the cold that they had to be airlifted to a hospital.
The most devastating discovery came later when Canadian authorities found the frozen bodies of a family of four, including a three-year-old and an eleven-year-old, near the border. "The boy was wrapped in a blanket with his father's frozen glove covering his face," the DOJ said in a statement, painting a haunting picture of their final moments. Acting US Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said, “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.”
The sentences mark the end of a case that captured international attention and renewed calls for stricter action against human trafficking. Officials say investigations into other links in the smuggling chain are still ongoing. The tragedy underscores the deadly risks migrants face when manipulated by trafficking networks promising false hope and opportunity at the cost of basic safety and humanity.
