A federal grand jury in the United States has formally indicted a man on human smuggling charges after the deaths of four Indian migrants near the Canada-U.S. border in January.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Minneapolis announced the indictment on two counts of human smuggling.
Steve Shand, who is 47 and from Florida, was allegedly behind the wheel of a 15-seat passenger van when he was pulled over Jan. 19 on a remote Minnesota road in blizzard-like conditions.
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Court documents allege there were also two undocumented Indian nationals in the van, along with snacks and provisions.
Not far away, in southern Manitoba, RCMP and border officials
discovered four frozen bodies, later identified as a couple and
their two children from India, who investigators believe were part of a larger group making their way to the United States.
A new court date has not been set for Shand, who was released last month on a personal recognizance bond after a court appearance in St. Paul, Minn.