Woman pleads guilty to trying to smuggle 29 turtles across a Vermont lake into Canada by kayak – KSAT San Antonio
Associated Press
Published:
Updated:
Associated Press
BURLINGTON, Vt. – A woman from China pleaded guilty on Friday to attempting to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, across a Vermont lake into Canada by kayak.
Wan Yee Ng, 41, 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 a Border Patrol agent’s affidavit filed in federal court.
Recommended Videos
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 court documents.
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, the affidavit stated.
Her cellphone was seized, and a search by law enforcement found communications showing that she tried to smuggle the turtles into Canada so that they could eventually be sold for a profit in Hong Kong, according to the plea agreement. Ng, from Hong Kong, was living in Canada.
She pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of unlawfully attempting to export and send 29 eastern box turtles out of the United States, contrary to law. VTDigger first reported on the plea 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.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Recommended Videos
Email Newsletters
KSAT RSS Feeds
Contests and Rules
Contact Us
KSAT Internships
Careers at KSAT
Closed Captioning / Audio Description
Public File
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Do Not Sell My Info
FCC Applications
If you need help with the Public File, call (210) 351-1200.
At KSAT, we are committed to informing and delighting our audience. In our commitment to covering our communities with innovation and excellence, we incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance our news gathering, reporting, and presentation processes. Read our article to see how we are using Artificial Intelligence.
Copyright © 2024 KSAT.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings.
