An Indian migrant who survived a deadly trek across the Canada-U.S. border in blizzard conditions is expected to testify Tuesday in the federal trial of two men accused of taking part in a sprawling human smuggling scheme that ultimately killed a family of four.
Prosecutors allege Indian national Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel , 29, and 50-year-old Steve Shand put financial profit over human life when they attempted to smuggle Indian migrants across the border into Minnesota over a five-week period. They say Patel ran part of the smuggling scheme and recruited 50-year-old Shand as a driver. Both men have pleaded not guilty to four federal counts related to human smuggling.
Prosecutors say the family of four - 39-year-old Jagdish Patel his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi and 3-year-old son, Dharmik - froze to death on Jan. 19, 2022, after spending hours wandering in heavy snow and bone-chilling cold. Shand had been waiting in a truck for 11 migrants, including the family from Gujarat state, as the wind chill reached minus 36 degrees Fahrenheit minus 38 degrees Celsius.
The witness expected to testify on Tuesday, Yash Patel, is one of two people who managed to reach Shand on the other side of the border. He was arrested along with Shand after a border patrol officer pulled them over before they could escape, prosecutors said.
Patel is a common Indian surname and the victims were not related to Harshkumar Patel.
