Human smuggling conviction upheld in death of Indian family at Manitoba-U.S. border
A U.S. appeals court has upheld the conviction of Harshkumar Patel for his role in a human smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of an Indian family near the Manitoba-Minnesota border. The court rejected arguments challenging the sentencing guidelines and the consistency of the charges.
Why it matters
This ruling reinforces legal accountability for human smuggling operations that lead to tragic loss of life, setting a precedent for similar cases.
Earlier this year, Harshkumar Patel asked the court to overturn his conviction and sentence after being found guilty by a Minnesota jury in November 2024.
Patel, an Indian national, was sentenced to just over 10 years in prison after being arrested in Chicago in 2024.
He was found to have co-ordinated the smuggling operation and hired his co-accused, Florida resident Steve Shand, to drive the migrants once they had crossed the border from Manitoba to Minnesota.
In a judgment and opinion posted Monday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld the lower court's sentencing decision, and found there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict.
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