In a case linked to the heartbreaking discovery of a family of four migrants from India found frozen to death near the Canada-US border last year, a Florida man has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges. Steve Shand, 48, entered his plea via videoconference during a brief arraignment in Duluth, Minnesota, after waiving the reading of the indictment. Shand is accused of illegally bringing migrants from India into the US on a frigid January night in 2022.
He was arrested in a remote area of northern Minnesota where US border agents encountered him with two Indian nationals in a rented passenger van. Tragically, just over the border in Manitoba, the bodies of four people were discovered, believed to have frozen to death while attempting to enter the US undetected. The victims were identified as Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben, and their two children. Three individuals in India are facing charges in connection with the deaths of the Patel family, while Shand faces charges of bringing people into the US illegally and transporting them within the country. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
This case sheds light on a larger human smuggling operation along the northern border, which has seen an increase in encounters with non-Canadian citizens. The US Customs and Border Protection agency reported a rise in encounters, reaching 11,583 last month, compared to 5,317 in April 2022. The tragic incident involving two families of Indian and Romanian descent drowning while attempting to cross the St. Lawrence River further highlights the risks involved in illegal border crossings. Overall, the situation underscores the pressing need for effective border control measures and efforts to combat human smuggling operations across the US-Canada border.