(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A man accused of smuggling people into the U.S. from Canada, including a family from India who died trying to make the crossing two years ago, was arrested at O’Hare Airport this week.
Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, who went by a number of aliases, according to federal authorities, including “Dirty Harry,” was allegedly helping to smuggle the family of four into Minnesota.
The parents were in their 30's and their two children were ages 3 and 11. The family died on the Canadian side during a blizzard. They had gotten separated from a group trying to get across the border.
A second alleged smuggler, Steve Shand, was arrested soon after the bodies were found and authorities said there were text messages between the two men discussing their alleged activities.
In a March 2022 interview with federal authorities, Shand said Patel had paid him about $25,000 to smuggle various individuals, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The men are not charged in the family’s deaths, but they are charged with smuggling.
The Tribune also reports that authorities allege that during earlier alleged smuggling trips, those being smuggled were dropped off at a supermarket in Chicago, a motel in Matteson, and what was described as a private home in “a wealthy part of the Chicago area.”
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