BURLINGTON, Vt. — A woman from China entered a guilty plea on Friday pertaining to her attempt to illegally transport 29 eastern box turtles, a species that is protected, across a Vermont lake into Canada using a kayak.
Wan Yee Ng, who is 41 years old, was apprehended on the morning of June 28 while staying at an Airbnb in Canaan. She was about to embark on an inflatable kayak carrying a duffle bag on Lake Wallace, as detailed in a Border Patrol agent’s affidavit submitted to federal court.
Authorities had been alerted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police regarding two individuals, one of whom was thought to be her spouse, paddling an inflatable craft from the Canadian side of the lake toward the U.S., according to the court documents.
Upon inspection of Ng’s heavy duffle bag, agents discovered 29 live eastern box turtles that were individually wrapped in socks, as indicated in the affidavit. The eastern box turtles can reportedly fetch up to $1,000 each on the black market in China, the affidavit also mentioned.
Law enforcement seized Ng’s cellphone, which revealed communications indicating her intention to smuggle the turtles into Canada for eventual sale in Hong Kong for a profit, according to the plea agreement. Originally from Hong Kong, Ng was residing in Canada at the time of her arrest.
Ng pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawfully attempting to export and send 29 eastern box turtles out of the United States, in violation of federal law. VTDigger was the first to report details about the plea deal.
She is set to be sentenced in December, with the possibility of facing up to 10 years in prison along with a maximum fine of $250,000.
