Overview

• Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel received 121 months in prison and is expected to be deported after completing his sentence.
• Steve Anthony Shand was handed six years and six months behind bars followed by two years of supervised release for picking up migrants in the United States.
• A federal jury found both men guilty on counts including conspiracy to transport aliens causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.
• Investigators determined the smugglers brought Indian nationals to Canada on fraudulent student visas before moving them on foot across the Minnesota border during a blizzard.
• Jagdish and Vaishaliben Patel and their children Vihangi and Dharmik froze to death near Emerson, Manitoba, in January 2022 as wind chills hit minus 36 °F and their clothing proved inadequate.