Man accused of human smuggling near US-Canada border is arrested at O’Hare

Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune
·2 min read
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CHICAGO — Authorities arrested a man at O’Hare International Airport in connection to the January 2022 blizzard deaths of an Indian migrant family.

Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel faces two charges of smuggling people into the U.S., according to court records. Patel, who allegedly used five aliases to communicate with accomplices in a smuggling operation, appeared briefly in court Thursday.

According to a criminal complaint by Department of Homeland Security special agent Manuel Jimenez, Patel helped facilitate a smuggling trip in blizzard conditions in which a family from Gujarat, India, froze to death.

Viashaliben Patel, 34, Jagdishkumar Patel, 39, their son, Dharmik Patel, 3, and their daughter, Vihangi Patel, 11, perished on the Canadian side of the border between Canada and Minnesota on Jan. 19, 2022, after getting separated from the rest of the party overnight, the complaint said.

Border Patrol agents arrested another man, Steve Shand, in connection with the deaths shortly after they occurred, and Shand was indicted in February 2022, the complaint said. A search of Shand’s phone indicated that he and Patel communicated via text hundreds of times about logistics for smuggling people across the U.S.-Canada border.

Their discussions covered pickup times, travel reservations and drop-off locations, according to the complaint.

On earlier trips, Shand dropped people off at the Patel Brothers supermarket in Chicago, a Matteson motel and a private home in “a wealthy part of the Chicago area,” according to the complaint.

At one point in the early morning of Jan. 19, Shand allegedly cautioned Patel, “Make sure everyone is dressed for blizzard conditions please… we are not losing any money.”

In a March 2022 interview with federal authorities, Shand said Patel had paid him a total of about $25,000 for various smuggling trips. Shand also immediately recognized a photo of Patel and identified him as “Harry,” one of Patel’s known aliases along with “Dirty Harry,” the complaint stated.

Patel’s attorney Michael Leonard confirmed that authorities arrested Patel at O’Hare while picking up an acquaintance. He has a detention hearing set for Feb. 28.

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(Chicago Tribune’s Jason Meisner contributed.)

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