Woman who tried to smuggle 29 turtles into Canada by kayaking across a lake pleads guilty

A woman from China pleaded guilty on Friday to trying to smuggle 29 items eastern box turtlesprotected species, kayak across Lake Vermont to Canada.

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 bag on Lake Wallace, according to a Border Patrol agent’s affidavit filed in federal court.

Court documents say agents were notified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that two other people, including a man believed to be her husband, began paddling an inflatable watercraft from the Canadian side of the lake toward the United States, according to court documents.

The affidavit says agents searched her heavy travel bag and found 29 live box turtles individually wrapped in socks. The statement said eastern box turtles are being sold on the Chinese black market for $1,000 each.

Her cell phone was confiscated and law enforcement searched correspondence showing she was trying to smuggle turtles into Canada so they could eventually be sold for profit in Hong Kong, according to the plea agreement. Ng, from Hong Kong, lived in Canada.

On Friday, she pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully attempting to export and ship 29 box turtles from the United States. VTDigger first reported the settlement.

Her sentencing is scheduled for December. She faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.