Cellphone records examined in trial of 2 men accused of human smuggling that led to family’s deaths

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The jury at a human smuggling trial has seen phone records the prosecution says show the two men accused were carrying out plans to sneak people across the Canada-U.S. border between Manitoba and Minnesota.

Steve Shand and Harshkumar Patel are accused of participating in several smuggling operations in December 2021 and January 2022. Both men have pleaded not guilty.

A family of four from India froze to death in a blizzard just north of the border on Jan. 19, 2022, the same day Shand was arrested in a van just south of the border.

Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife, Vaishali, 37, and their children Dharmik, 3, and Vihangi, 11, were found frozen in a snow-drifted field in Manitoba, just 12 metres from the U.S. border. They were not related to Harshkumar Patel.

A cellular communications analyst with the Federal Bureau of Investigation testified on Thursday, the fourth day of the trial, about records related to phones that the prosecution says belonged to the accused men.

Five people's legs and feet are shown pictured from above. They're wearing jeans and black rubber boots.
The surviving migrants who made the trek into the United States are pictured in an image included in the U.S. government’s trial briefing, filed in October by U.S. attorney Andrew Luger. The migrants were wearing ‘woefully inadequate’ winter clothing, the briefing says. (United States District Court of Minnesota)

The records track two phones that prosecutors say belonged to Shand and that travelled, on multiple occasions, from his hometown in Florida to Minnesota, then to an area near the border.

FBI special agent Nicole Lopez says during those trips, there were many calls to and from phones that prosecutors say belonged to Patel.

Under cross-examination by Shand’s lawyer, Lopez said cell records, which are based on towers used, offer a general location and cannot offer pinpoint accuracy.

Man walks with sunglasses while speaking on a cell phone.
Steve Shand leaves court in Fergus Falls, Minn., earlier this week. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)

Lopez also said the records show who the phones are registered to, not who is using them at any given time.

The trial in Fergus Falls, Minn., also heard Thursday from two forensic pathologists, who testified the family died from hypothermia.

One also said the autopsies were done after a few days because the bodies were too frozen at first.

Clothing, baby wipes, and toys are pictured on a table.
Children’s clothing, toys and diapers were found in a backpack of one of the surviving migrants, the U.S. government’s trial briefing says. (United States District Court of Minnesota)
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