A woman from China has been arrested at a Vermont lake bordering Quebec for trying to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, into Canada by kayak, according to Border Patrol agents.
Wan Yee Ng was arrested on the morning of June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan as she was about to get into an inflatable kayak with a duffle bag on Lake Wallace, according to an agent’s affidavit filed in federal court. Agents had been notified by Royal Canadian Mounted Police that two other people, including a man who was believed to be her husband, had started to paddle an inflatable watercraft from the Canadian side of the lake toward the United States, according to an agent’s affidavit.
The agents searched her heavy duffle bag and found 29 live eastern box turtles individually wrapped in socks, the affidavit states. Eastern box turtles are known to be sold on the Chinese black market for $1,000 each, according to the affidavit.
Ng is charged with attempting to export the turtles from the U.S., in violation of the Endangered Species Act. A federal judge on Friday ordered that she remain detained. The federal public defender’s office, which is representing her, declined to comment.
Border Patrol agents first spotted Ng at the Airbnb rental in May when they noticed a vehicle with Ontario plates traveling on a Vermont road in Canaan in an area used by smugglers, they said. Lake Wallace has been used for human and narcotic smuggling, the affidavit states. The vehicle had entered the U.S. in Alburgh, Vermont, agents said.
Ng was admitted to the United States in May on a visitor visa with an intended destination of Fort Lee, New Jersey, the affidavit states. Border Patrol agents learned on June 18 that she had again entered the U.S. in Buffalo in a vehicle with a Quebec plate and was expected to arrive at the same Airbnb on Lake Wallace in Vermont on June 25, the affidavit states. They then started to surveil the property.
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Rephrased content:
A Chinese woman named Wan Yee Ng was arrested by Border Patrol agents at a lake in Vermont along the Quebec border for attempting to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, into Canada via kayak. The arrest took place on June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan as Ng was preparing to get into an inflatable kayak on Lake Wallace with a duffle bag. Royal Canadian Mounted Police had alerted the agents about two other individuals paddling from the Canadian side towards the United States, one of whom was believed to be Ng’s husband. Upon searching her duffle bag, agents discovered 29 live eastern box turtles wrapped in socks, a species known to fetch $1,000 each on the Chinese black market.
Ng has been charged with trying to export the turtles from the U.S. in violation of the Endangered Species Act and was ordered to remain detained by a federal judge. The federal public defender’s office, representing Ng, chose not to provide a comment on the case. Border Patrol agents had first spotted Ng in May at the Airbnb rental when they observed a vehicle with Ontario plates in a region of Canaan frequented by smugglers. Lake Wallace had been previously utilized for both human and narcotic smuggling activities, as outlined in the affidavit. Ng had entered the U.S. in May on a visitor visa with plans to go to Fort Lee, New Jersey. Subsequently, agents learned of her reentry into the U.S. in Buffalo on June 18 in a vehicle with Quebec plates, heading to the same Airbnb on Lake Wallace in Vermont on June 25, prompting surveillance of the property.
