Two men have been convicted for their roles in a human trafficking scheme that left a family of four frozen to death in northern Minnesota in 2022 after illegally crossing the Canadian border.

Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, and Steve Anthony Shand, 50, were each found guilty of four counts relating to human trafficking of foreign nationals on Friday, after the court heard they had smuggled smuggled dozens of people into the United States via the Canadian border in December and January 2021-2022.

The two men were part of a large-scale human trafficking operation that brought Indian nationals to Canada on student visas in order to smuggle them, and were responsible for picking up migrants near immigration points. He entered Lancaster and Pembina, North Dakota, before driving them. in Chicago.

The Indian family of four, husband and wife Jagdish and Vaishaliben Patel, 39 and 37, and their two children Vihangi (11) and Dharmik (3) were found frozen to death inside the Minnesota border on January 19, after being left traveling alone in blizzard-like conditions after crossing the border.

On Jan. 19, law enforcement was dispatched to assist the U.S. Border Patrol in Pembina after Shand was arrested while driving a 15-passenger pickup truck.

Shortly afterwards, five Indian nationals were found just south of the border, walking towards where Shand had been arrested. They explained that they had crossed the border on foot hoping to be picked up.

The group had been walking for more than seven hours.

One member of the group was carrying a backpack containing items belonging to a family of four. The family was separated from the group overnight, when the temperature dropped to -36 degrees.

The Patel family was found dead soon after, and it was confirmed that they were among those Patel and Shand had been paid to smuggle across the border.

“This trial exposed the unthinkable cruelty of human trafficking and the efforts made by traffickers to maximize their profits, putting men, women and young children in extraordinary peril, ultimately leading to the tragic death of an entire family,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger. a declaration.

“Today we have brought those responsible to justice. For this, I thank the hard work of all law enforcement officers involved, including the team of prosecutors in my office and the Department of Justice.