Gujarat family froze to death on US border, traffickers plead not guilty

An Indian-origin man who is accused in the human trafficking case of 2022, in which four of a family from Gujrat's Dingucha were killed, has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of human smuggling. The four of the family, including two children, were found frozen to death while trying to cross the US-Canada border.

Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 28, also known as 'Dirty Harry,' entered his plea during a brief teleconference with US Magistrate Judge Leo Brisbois of Duluth.

Alongside him, Steven Shand, 49, of Deltona, Florida, who was arrested on January 19, 2022, driving a van transporting seven individuals, including the four victims from Gujarat's Dingucha, near the US border, also pleaded not guilty to four counts during the same hearing.

Proceedings in Shand's case had been put on hold several times before Patel’s arrest last month.

Patel remains in federal custody.

The victims, Jagdish Patel (39), his wife Vaishali (37), and their two children -- Vihangi (11) and Dharmik (3), were from Dingucha, near Gandhinagar, were found frozen to death near Emerson, Manitoba, approximately 10 metres from the Canada-US border while illegally attempting to enter the US.

PATEL'S ILLEGAL STATUS IN THE US

In a recent court document, an agent with the US Department of Homeland Security said Patel has been refused a US visa at least five times, including four at US consulates in India and once at the US consulate in Ottawa, Canada.

He is in the US illegally, the agent said.

Patel, reportedly linked to a human trafficking group based in Gujarat, is accused of facilitating the illegal entry of Indian nationals into Canada on student visas, subsequently transporting them to the Chicago area.

These migrants, according to prosecutors, were then forced to work for substandard wages at Indian restaurants to pay off debts to the smugglers.

Four members of a family from India died near the border in Minnesota. Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben, and their two children, Vihangi and Dharmik, all froze to death.

They were found just 10 meters from the border near Emerson, Manitoba, according to AP.

HOW THE RENTED VAN OPENED THE CASE

The whole case came to light when the US Border Patrol in Minnesota stopped a rented van driven by Shand.

Inside the van were two Indians from Gujarat who had entered the US illegally, while five others were spotted walking nearby.

According to court documents, they told officers they’d been walking for more than 11 hours in temperatures well below zero degree Fahrenheit (-34 degrees Celsius).

WhatsApp messages exchanged between Shand and Patel, were revealed in court filings. "Make sure everyone is dressed for the blizzard conditions please," Shand urged, to which Patel replied, "Done."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the deaths as "mind-blowing", highlighting the need for comprehensive solutions to address such tragedies.