A man accused by police in India of helping smuggle a family of four through Canada just before they froze to death on the Manitoba border with the United States is living freely in a suburb outside Toronto, an investigation by CBC’s The Fifth Estate has found.
Indian police allege Fenil Patel was one of two men who helped transport Jagdish Patel (no relation) and his family to the border during a blinding snowstorm and –35 C temperatures two years ago.
The Patel family died of exposure on Jan. 19, 2022, while attempting to cross illegally into Minnesota, near Emerson, Man. The frozen bodies of 39-year-old Jagdish Patel, his 37-year-old wife, Vaishali, their 11-year -old daughter, Vihangi, and three-year-old son, Dharmik, were found just 12 metres from the U.S. border.
Fenil Patel is facing charges in the Indian state of Gujarat of culpable homicide and human smuggling for his alleged role in the death of the Patel family.
Watch the full documentary, “Search for the Smugglers,” from The Fifth Estate on YouTube or CBC-TV Friday at 9 p.m. ET. It will also stream on CBC Gem.
The charges were announced in January 2023. Indian media have reported that he has lived or fled to numerous places, among them the U.S., Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver.
But The Fifth Estate found him living a quiet life in a bedroom community outside Toronto.
Fenil Patel did not respond to a number of attempts to interview him. When a Fifth Estate crew questioned him in front of his home, he turned and walked inside without any response.
The Fifth Estate questions Fenil Patel
Steven D’Souza, host of The Fifth Estate, questions Fenil Patel over allegations from Indian police that he was one of the smugglers responsible for transporting the Patel family (no relation) to the Canada-U.S. border in January 2022.
From driving his children to school to weekend family outings, Fenil Patel’s life seems indistinguishable from that of his suburban neighbours. To protect his family’s privacy, CBC News is not identifying the specific area.
Nothing in the daily routine observed by The Fifth Estate hints at the serious charges he’s facing overseas.
Fenil Patel is alleged to have driven a number of migrants from Toronto to British Columbia and then to Manitoba. There, they met up with the Patel family and were driven to a remote area of the border near Emerson during a severe winter storm on the night of Jan. 18, 2022.
In an interview with The Fifth Estate, Chaitanya Mandlik, deputy commissioner of the Gujarat state police, Ahmedabad crime branch, confirmed the man found by the CBC investigative program is the same Fenil Patel they’re seeking.
“Fenil Patel is basically an agent in Canada,” he said. “He drove them to the border area.”
Mandlik said they had requested the RCMP’s help in locating Fenil Patel and arresting him in Canada so he could be returned to India to face the charges.
But it’s not clear if an official request has been made.
Chaitanya Mandlik, deputy commissioner of the Gujarat state police, Ahmedabad crime branch, says police there requested the RCMP’s help in locating Patel and arresting him in Canada so he could be returned to India to face charges. (CBC)
At the time, a Canadian Justice Department spokesperson would not confirm that a request had been made, writing via email that “requests are confidential state-to-state communications.”
In response to a followup email from The Fifth Estate last week, a Justice Department spokesperson wrote: “We cannot confirm or deny the existence of a potential request until made public by the courts. We can confirm that neither of these individuals currently has an extradition case pending before the courts.”
The RCMP would be responsible for making the arrest, but despite repeated queries from The Fifth Estate, the RCMP in Manitoba, which is leading the investigation into the family’s death, won’t say why an accused human smuggler, who Indian police say was one of the last people to see the Patel family alive, is living freely in Canada.
Indian police say they want Patel arrested and returned to India to face charges. The RCMP says its investigation into who dropped the Patel family at the border is ‘progressing.’ (CBC)
The RCMP has not made any public comment on their ongoing investigation into the Patel deaths since they credited The Fifth Estate a year ago for helping to generate new leads.
Deepak Ahluwalia, an immigration lawyer in California who grew up in Brampton, Ont., has represented migrants seeking asylum who have crossed into the U.S. illegally from the southern and northern borders. He says there’s a number of reasons why Fenil Patel may not be in custody.
“The RCMP may not have the actual minimum that they need to actually go ahead and charge this individual. The Indian authorities may still be collecting information and don’t have enough to actually put forward an extradition request.”
Why migrants choose the United States
Immigration lawyer Deepak Ahulwalia describes the lure of the American dream and why migrants choose risking their life to get to the U.S. rather than settling in Canada.
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa, which would play a role in any extradition request, did not respond to interview requests for this story.
In the death of the Patel family, Ahluwalia says the RCMP should act quickly.
“If there’s reason to believe and there is evidence that this individual was doing all of this in Canada, well, to be honest, then you don’t need India,” he said.
“You don’t need the government of India to do the extradition request. You try that person in Canada. The crime was committed in Canada by someone who was on Canadian soil.”
Jagdish Patel, left; son Dharmik; wife Vaishali and daughter Vihangi are shown in this family photo released to the media at the time of their deaths in January 2022. (Vaishali Patel/Facebook)
The RCMP did send a statement to The Fifth Estate, but would not comment specifically on Fenil Patel’s case, saying the investigation is “progressing.”
“We appreciate there’s much public interest in this investigation and that the public is looking for answers. The RCMP are following all relevant avenues of investigation and continue to work diligently on this case,” an RCMP spokesperson wrote in an emailed response to a list of detailed questions submitted by The Fifth Estate.
Fenil Patel’s alleged role
The story of how The Fifth Estate tracked down Fenil Patel involves late-night calls, dozens of documents from India and Canada and hours of surveillance to ultimately establish that the man living near Toronto was the same man wanted by Indian police.
Through its investigation, The Fifth Estate pieced together more information about the route the group of migrants took to reach the border and the role Indian police allege Fenil Patel played.
Indian police believe that after arriving at Toronto’s Pearson Airport via Dubai on Jan. 12, 2022, the Patel family was shuttled between hotels and a private residence in the Greater Toronto Area before they were transported to a motel in Manitoba sometime between Jan. 16 and 18, 2022. There, they joined other Indian migrants the smugglers were moving to the border.
Patel family arrives at Pearson airport
Exclusive video obtained by The Fifth Estate shows the Patel family arriving at Toronto’s Pearson airport on Jan. 12. A week later, their bodies would be found along the Canada-U.S. border in Manitoba.
One of the other migrants in Manitoba was Varshil Dhobi, an acquaintance of the Patels from their home state of Gujarat.
According to statements to Indian police from Dhobi and his father Pankaj, Jagdish Patel called Dhobi’s father in India to reassure him the Patel family was with Varshil and that they were crossing the border together.
According to Dhobi’s statement to Indian police, on the night of Jan. 18, 2022, Fenil Patel and another man, known only as Bitu Paji, drove the Patel family and seven other migrants to a remote stretch near the Manitoba border with Minnesota and North Dakota east of Emerson during a bitter storm.
The smugglers allegedly provided the migrants with cellphones loaded with a GPS app to guide them to a rendezvous point just over the border, where they were supposed to be picked up.
On the morning of Jan. 19, 2022, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Florida resident Steve Shand and two migrants in a rented 15-seater passenger van on a snowy highway in Minnesota, just south of the Canadian border near Emerson.
Varshil Dhobi and four other migrants were caught by the Border Patrol walking down the same highway shortly after. Shand is awaiting trial in federal court in Minnesota for transporting illegal migrants.
Varshil Dhobi came to Canada on a student visa in December 2021. He alleges in a statement to Indian police that Fenil Patel helped move him through Canada to the U.S. border near Emerson, Man., where he crossed illegally in January 2022. (CBC)
“Basically, they just forced them to go to that site,” Mandlik said.
“Their plan was to cross from the Vancouver border but I think there was some issue at the Vancouver border. That’s why they drove them to Manitoba and then forced them to walk through that in that chilly temperature and that ice,” Mandlik told The Fifth Estate, further explaining police believe that “to save the money and to save time, they told them to cross from the Manitoba side.”
Tracking an accused human smuggler
Fenil Patel’s name first surfaced when Indian police announced arrests in January 2023, just a few days before the one-year anniversary of the deaths of the Patel family members.
Three men, Yogesh Patel, Bhavesh Patel, neither a relation to any others involved in this case, along with Dashrath Chaudhary, were arrested and charged in India with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempted culpable homicide, conspiracy and human trafficking.
Three men were arrested in India in early 2023 and accused of smuggling the Patel family to the Canada-U.S. border. From left: Yogesh Patel, Bhavesh Patel and Dashrath Chaudhary. (CBC News)
Indian police allege Fenil Patel and Bitu Paji ran the Canadian arm of the smuggling network, co-ordinating and controlling the final days of the journey by the Patels to the border.
While the announcement of the Indian arrests initially made headlines in Canada, Indian police did not publicly release any photos of Fenil Patel or identifying information.
Sources tell The Fifth Estate that at the time, Gujarat state investigators gave the RCMP detailed information on Fenil Patel, including his passport information.
The message from Indian police to the RCMP, according to a source familiar with the meetings: “Fenil is in Canada, do something.”
Piecing the clues together
In the spring of 2023, The Fifth Estate obtained, through sources, an Indian police report detailing the charges against Fenil Patel, including part of migrant Varshil Dhobi’s witness account.
The police report described the accused human smugglers as men driven by greed who knew the risks of sending migrants into dangerous weather without adequate clothing, but chose to anyway. Dhobi said he paid smugglers the equivalent of $100,000 for the journey.
A photo posted to Facebook in 2019 shows three-year-old Dharmik Patel; his sister, Vihangi Patel, 11; and their parents, Jagdish Patel and Vaishali Patel. (Vaishali Patel/Facebook)
The document also contained addresses in India and phone numbers both in India and in North America that were possibly connected to Fenil Patel. One number had a Toronto-based 647 area code.
When The Fifth Estate called that number, the person who answered denied any knowledge of the Patel family case.
“Maybe somebody give you the wrong information, maybe because I don’t know anybody,” said the person who claimed they didn’t know the Patel family or about any possible charges.
A few months later, The Fifth Estate was able to obtain more details on Fenil Patel, including photos as well as his full legal name and date of birth.
Photos obtained by The Fifth Estate show Fenil Patel, the man Indian police have charged with culpable homicide, human trafficking and conspiracy in connection with death of Patel family. (CBC)
Using open source property and business records, The Fifth Estate was able to locate a home outside Toronto connected to Fenil Patel.
After days of surveillance, journalists with The Fifth Estate were able to connect Fenil Patel to the photos and information gathered.
Smuggler a flight risk
Ahluwalia says what happened to the Patel family did not stop the flow of migrants from India.
In the case of the Patel family’s death, Ahluwalia said Varshil Dhobi’s witness statement is enough evidence for the RCMP to act.
“I believe the biggest smoking gun in this investigation is the fact that Fenil was placed at the border, alongside with the Patel family, before they made that trek to the United States.”
He said he’s concerned about what may happen if the RCMP wait too long.
“Unless there’s an arrest warrant issued for this individual, there’s nothing that stops him from leaving Canada. He could end up wherever and then we’ll really be at a loss for the investigation.”
TORONTO – Will Taylor Swift bring chaos or do we all need to calm down?
It’s a question many Torontonians are asking this week as the city braces for the arrival of Swifties, the massive fan base of one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to descend on the downtown core for the singer’s six concerts which kick off Thursday at the Rogers Centre and run until Nov. 23.
And while their arrival will be a boon to tourism dollars — the city estimates more than $282 million in economic impact — some worry it could worsen Toronto’s gridlock by clogging streets that already come to a standstill during rush hour.
Swift’s shows are set to collide with sports events at the nearby Scotiabank Arena, including a Raptors game on Friday and a Leafs game on Saturday.
Some residents and local businesses have already adjusted their plans to avoid the area and its planned road closures.
Aahil Dayani says he and some friends intended to throw a birthday bash for one of their pals until they realized it would overlap with the concerts.
“Something as simple as getting together and having dinner is now thrown out the window,” he said.
Dayani says the group rescheduled the gathering for after Swift leaves town. In the meantime, he plans to hunker down at his Toronto residence.
“Her coming into town has kind of changed up my social life,” he added.
“We’re pretty much just not doing anything.”
Max Sinclair, chief executive and founder of A.I. technology firm Ecomtent, suggested his employees avoid the company’s downtown offices on concert days, saying he doesn’t see the point in forcing people to endure potential traffic jams.
“It’s going to be less productive for us, and it’s going to be just a pain for everyone, so it’s easier to avoid it,” Sinclair said.
“We’re a hybrid company, so we can be flexible. It just makes sense.”
Swift’s concerts are the latest pop culture moment to draw attention to Toronto’s notoriously disastrous daily commute.
In June, One Direction singer Niall Horan uploaded a social media video of himself walking through traffic to reach the venue for his concert.
“Traffic’s too bad in Toronto, so we’re walking to the venue,” he wrote in the post.
Toronto Transit Commission spokesperson Stuart Green says the public agency has been working for more than a year on plans to ease the pressure of so many Swifties in one confined area.
“We are preparing for something that would be akin to maybe the Beatles coming in the ‘60s,” he said.
Dozens of buses and streetcars have been added to transit routes around the stadium, and the TTC has consulted the city on potential emergency scenarios.
Green will be part of a command centre operated by the City of Toronto and staffed by Toronto police leaders, emergency services and others who have handled massive gatherings including the Raptors’ NBA championship parade in 2019.
“There may be some who will say we’re over-preparing, and that’s fair,” Green said.
“But we know based on what’s happened in other places, better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.”
Metrolinx, the agency for Ontario’s GO Transit system, has also added extra trips and extended hours in some regions to accommodate fans looking to travel home.
A day before Swift’s first performance, the city began clearing out tents belonging to homeless people near the venue. The city said two people were offered space in a shelter.
“As the area around Rogers Centre is expected to receive a high volume of foot traffic in the coming days, this area has been prioritized for outreach work to ensure the safety of individuals in encampments, other residents, businesses and visitors — as is standard for large-scale events,” city spokesperson Russell Baker said in a statement.
Homeless advocate Diana Chan McNally questioned whether money and optics were behind the measure.
“People (in the area) are already in close proximity to concerts, sports games, and other events that generate massive amounts of traffic — that’s nothing new,” she said in a statement.
“If people were offered and willingly accepted a shelter space, free of coercion, I support that fully — that’s how it should happen.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Hundreds of Taylor Swift fans lined up outside the gates of Toronto’s Rogers Centre Wednesday, with hopes of snagging some of the pop star’s merchandise on the eve of the first of her six sold-out shows in the city.
Swift is slated to perform at the venue from Thursday to Saturday, and the following week from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23, with concert merchandise available for sale on some non-show days.
Swifties were all smiles as they left the merch shop, their arms full of sweaters and posters bearing pictures of the star and her Eras Tour logo.
Among them was Zoe Haronitis, 22, who said she waited in line for about two hours to get $300 worth of merchandise, including some apparel for her friends.
Haronitis endured the autumn cold and the hefty price tag even though she hasn’t secured a concert ticket. She said she’s hunting down a resale ticket and plans to spend up to $600.
“I haven’t really budgeted anything,” Haronitis said. “I don’t care how much money I spent. That was kind of my mindset.”
The megastar’s merchandise costs up to $115 for a sweater, and $30 for tote bags and other accessories.
Rachel Renwick, 28, also waited a couple of hours in line for merchandise, but only spent about $70 after learning that a coveted blue sweater and a crewneck had been snatched up by other eager fans before she got to the shop. She had been prepared to spend much more, she said.
“The two prized items sold out. I think a lot more damage would have been done,” Renwick said, adding she’s still determined to buy a sweater at a later date.
Renwick estimated she’s spent about $500 in total on “all-things Eras Tour,” including her concert outfit and merchandise.
The long queue for Swift merch is just a snapshot of what the city will see in the coming days. It’s estimated that up to 500,000 visitors from outside Toronto will be in town during the concert period.
Tens of thousands more are also expected to attend Taylgate’24, an unofficial Swiftie fan event scheduled to be held at the nearby Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Meanwhile, Destination Toronto has said it anticipates the economic impact of the Eras Tour could grow to $282 million as the money continues to circulate.
But for fans like Haronitis, the experience in Toronto comes down to the Swiftie community. Knowing that Swift is going to be in the city for six shows and seeing hundreds gather just for merchandise is “awesome,” she said.
Even though Haronitis hasn’t officially bought her ticket yet, she said she’s excited to see the megastar.
“It’s literally incredible.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Via Rail is asking for a judicial review on the reasons why Canadian National Railway Co. has imposed speed restrictions on its new passenger trains.
The Crown corporation says it is seeking the review from the Federal Court after many attempts at dialogue with the company did not yield valid reasoning for the change.
It says the restrictions imposed last month are causing daily delays on Via Rail’s Québec City-Windsor corridor, affecting thousands of passengers and damaging Via Rail’s reputation with travellers.
CN says in a statement that it imposed the restrictions at rail crossings given the industry’s experience and known risks associated with similar trains.
The company says Via has asked the courts to weigh in even though Via has agreed to buy the equipment needed to permanently fix the issues.
Via said in October that no incidents at level crossings have been reported in the two years since it put 16 Siemens Venture trains into operation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
