Fenil Patel Arrested in Canada Under U.S. Extradition Request
Fenil Patel, a man accused of human smuggling in connection with the deaths of a family at the U.S.-Canada border in 2022, has been arrested in Canada following an extradition request from the United States.
According to a Canadian Justice Department spokesperson, Patel was taken into custody “pursuant to an extradition request from the United States of America.” The department declined to provide further details, citing the confidential nature of extradition matters. The U.S. Department of Justice also declined to comment.
Patel is accused by Indian authorities of helping transport the Patel family—unrelated to Fenil Patel—to the U.S. border during a deadly snowstorm in January 2022. The family of four—Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishali, their 11-year-old daughter Vihangi, and 3-year-old son Dharmik—died of hypothermia just 12 metres from the Minnesota-Manitoba border near Emerson.
In January 2023, police in Gujarat, India, charged Fenil Patel with culpable homicide and human smuggling. Authorities allege he and an accomplice coordinated the family’s final journey through Canada, managing a local arm of an international smuggling network.
Indian officials began the extradition process in May 2023. Despite reports suggesting Patel had lived in various cities—including Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver—an investigation by CBC’s The Fifth Estate found him residing quietly in a Toronto suburb.
Further proceedings will determine whether Patel will be extradited to the United States to face charges related to the fatal smuggling attempt.
