Achi news desk-
A man accused of helping smuggle people across the US-Canada border into the state of Minnesota, including four members of an Indian family from Gujarat, who froze to death in 2022, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to human smuggling.
Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 28, entered his plea during a brief teleconference with U.S. Magistrate Judge Leo Brisbois of Duluth. US authorities said that Steven Shand, 49, was hired by Patel to drive the Indian citizens from the Canadian border to the Chicago area.
Shand, of Deltona, Florida, pleaded not guilty during the same hearing to four charges contained in an updated indictment against them that was unsealed last week. Shand was arrested and charged with human smuggling two years ago. He remains free on his own recognizance.
READ MORE: Man of Indian origin held in Chicago over death of Gujarati family Freezes Near US-Canada Border
This development comes as Patel, who goes by the alias “Dirty Harry,” remains in federal custody. According to a court document, it was revealed that Patel had been refused a US visa at least five times, including four at the US consulate in India and once at the US consulate in Ottawa, Canada. He is in the United States illegally, the agent said. Patel’s name did not surface until his arrest in Chicago last month on a previously sealed warrant issued last September.
Unsealed court papers link Patel to a human-trafficking ring in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat. The group would allegedly get Indian nationals into Canada on student visas, then move them on to the Chicago area. The migrants would work for substandard wages in Indian restaurants while they paid off a debt to the smugglers, according to court documents.
US prosecutors allege that Shand was driving a 15-passenger rental van when he was stopped by the US Border Patrol in Minnesota just south of the Canadian border on January 19, 2022. Inside the van there were two Indians from Gujarat who had entered the United States illegally, while five others were seen walking nearby. According to court documents, they told officers they had been walking for more than 11 hours in temperatures well below zero Fahrenheit (-34 Celsius). One person was in hospital with serious cold-related injuries.
A man with the group told authorities he paid the equivalent of about $87,000 to be smuggled into the United States. He also had a rucksack which contained children’s clothes and a diaper, but there were no children in the group. The man told authorities he was carrying the items for a family of four with a small child, each of whom had separated from his group during the night. Later that day, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found the four dead, just 10 meters from the border near Emerson, Manitoba.
According to a series of messages sent via WhatsApp, Shand told Patel, “Please make sure everyone is dressed for the big snow.” Patel replied, “Done.” Then Shand said, “We’re not losing any money.” The victims were identified as Jagdish Patel, 39; his wife, Vaishaliben, 34; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and Dharmik, a 3-year-old son, all from Dingucha village in Gujarat state. Jagdish Patel and his wife were educated and worked as teachers, but sought a better life in the United States, according to their relatives.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said their deaths were “mind blowing.” The victims faced not only bitter cold, but also flat, open fields; heavy snow and total darkness, according to the Mounted Police. They were wearing winter clothes, but it wasn’t enough to save them. An unsealed court filing last month said Shand told investigators he first met Harshkumar Patel, who he also knew by the nickname “Dirty Harry,” at a gambling establishment controlled by Patel in Orange City. Florida.
Shand said Patel originally tried to recruit him to pick up Indian nationals who were illegally crossing the US-Canada border in New York. Shand said he refused, but agreed to pick up others in Minnesota. Shand said Patel paid him a total of about $25,000 for five trips to the border in December 2021 and January 2022. He said he dropped off his passengers at an Indian supermarket in Chicago, a residence in an affluent part of the Chicago area, and in a suburb. Motel Chicago.
(With AP inputs)
