Jury finds defendants guilt in human smuggling trial [Video]

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — A federal jury has found two defendants guilty on all counts for their roles in a human smuggling operation after an Indian National couple and their two children froze to death near the border between Minnesota and Canada in 2022. 

Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel – an experienced smuggler who went by the alias “Dirty Harry” – and Steve Shand were each charged with four counts related to a human smuggling operation that was trying to usher 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 from Canada into the U.S., where they planned to start a new life. 

Instead, the Patels were found frozen to death in a desolate …