Chinese woman pleads guilty to attempted smuggling on the 29th eastern box turtleKayak across Vermont Lake to Canada to see protected species.
According to a Border Patrol affidavit filed in federal court, Wan Yee Ng, 41, was trying to board an inflatable kayak with a duffel bag on Lake Wallace on the morning of June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan. was arrested during
Agents were notified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that two other people, including the man believed to be her husband, had begun rowing an inflatable boat on the Canadian side of the lake toward the United States, according to court documents.
Agents searched her heavy duffel bag and found 29 live eastern box turtles individually wrapped in socks, the affidavit states. Eastern box turtles have been known to sell for $1,000 each on the black market in China.
Carolyn Castor/AP
Her cellphone was confiscated, and a search by law enforcement found content indicating she had attempted to smuggle turtles into Canada to make a profit from Hong Kong, according to the plea agreement. Ng, originally from Hong Kong, was living in Canada.
She pleaded guilty Friday to one count of attempting to illegally export 29 eastern box turtles out of the United States, contrary to the law. VTDigger first reported on the appeal deal.
She is scheduled to be sentenced in December and faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
