Chinese Woman Arrested for Smuggling Turtles into Canada by KayakChinese Woman Arrested for Smuggling Turtles into Canada by Kayak A Chinese woman has been apprehended in Vermont for attempting to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, into Canada via kayak. Details of the Arrest * Wan Yee Ng was arrested Friday at an Airbnb in Canaan, Vermont. * She was about to kayak across Wallace Lake with a gym bag containing the turtles. * Two other individuals, believed to be her husband and an accomplice, paddled from Canada toward the US in a separate inflatable boat. Discovery of the Turtles * Officers discovered 29 live box turtles wrapped in socks inside Ng’s gym bag. * Eastern box turtles reportedly sell for $1,000 each on the Chinese black market. Legal Implications * Ng is charged with exporting turtles from the US in violation of the Endangered Species Act. * A federal judge has ordered her detention. * The federal public defender’s office representing Ng declined to comment. Previous Smuggling Activities * Wallace Lake has been previously used for human and drug trafficking. * Ng had previously visited the area in May, raising suspicions among border agents. * Customs officials had tracked Ng’s entry into the US on visitor visas and her subsequent arrival at the Airbnb near Wallace Lake. Ongoing Investigation * Officers are continuing to investigate the smuggling operation. * The two other individuals involved in the attempt to smuggle the turtles remain at large.
A Chinese woman has been arrested at a lake in Vermont, near Quebec, for trying to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, into Canada by kayak, U.S. customs officials said.
Wan Yee Ng was arrested Friday morning at an Airbnb in Canaan, Vermont, a short drive from the Eastern Townships border. She was about to board an inflatable kayak on Wallace Lake with a gym bag, according to an agent’s affidavit filed in federal court.
Officers were notified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that two other individuals, including a man believed to be her husband, had paddled from the Canadian side of the lake toward the United States in an inflatable boat, the statement also said.
Officers searched his heavy gym bag and found 29 live box turtles, individually wrapped in socks, the affidavit said, adding that eastern box turtles sell on the Chinese black market for $1,000 each.
Mme Ng is accused of trying to export the turtles from the United States, in violation of the Endangered Species ActA federal judge ordered her detention Friday. The federal public defender’s office, which is representing her, declined to comment.
Border agents spot Mme Ng first visited the Airbnb rental in May when they saw a vehicle with Ontario plates driving down a Vermont road in Canaan, in an area used by smugglers. Wallace Lake has been used in the past for human and drug trafficking, the affidavit said. The vehicle had entered the United States near Alburgh, Vt., agents said.
Mme Ng was admitted to the United States in May on a visitor visa bound for Fort Lee, New Jersey, the affidavit said. Customs officials learned on June 18 that she had entered the United States in Buffalo in a vehicle with Quebec plates and that she would arrive at the same Airbnb near Wallace Lake, Vermont, on June 25, the affidavit said. They then began screening the property.
