A Hong Kong woman was arrested after trying to smuggle 29 protected turtles from the United States to Canada.
Wan Yee Ng, 41, pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vermont, to charges of attempting to smuggle eastern box turtles from Vermont into Canada.
Eastern box turtles are a protected species not only in Vermont, but also in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Hampshire.
According to the affidavit, Ng was arrested June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan, Vermont.
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An endangered male eastern box turtle named “Tank” lives at the Franklin Park Zoo. (John Wilcox/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Police said the 41-year-old was caught loading an inflatable kayak for a trip to the Canadian side of Wallace Lake.
Police said they were notified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that two other people, including a man suspected to be Ng’s husband, had begun rowing an inflatable boat from the Canadian side of the lake toward the United States.
Authorities said she had 29 eastern box turtles inside a duffel bag wrapped in socks, the affidavit said.
Box Turtle, Fairfax, Virginia. (Robert Knopes/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Eastern box turtles have been known to sell for $1,000 each on the black market in China.
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During the investigation, police confiscated her cellphone, which showed she had attempted to smuggle the turtles into Canada and eventually sell them for profit in Hong Kong.
Robert Knopes/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (Robert Knopes/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Ng pleaded guilty Friday to one count of attempting to illegally export 29 eastern box turtles out of the United States, contrary to the law.
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she was detained since his arrest last June. And she will remain in custody until she is sentenced. She is scheduled to be sentenced on December 13 and faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
