Overview

• Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, identified as the ringleader, received a 10-year federal prison sentence and faces likely deportation after his term.
• Steve Anthony Shand, who drove migrants across the border, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
• A jury convicted both men in November on four counts each for transporting unauthorized Indian nationals from Canada into the United States.
• The bodies of Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben, and their children Vihangi and Dharmik were recovered near the Manitoba-Minnesota border after they succumbed to hypothermia in a –38°C wind chill on January 19, 2022.
• Survivors testified that smugglers provided only light jackets and boots unsuitable for sub-zero conditions and that the operation prioritized profit over migrant safety.