Woman Pleads Guilty to Turtle Smuggling Scheme

Wan Yee Ng, a 41-year-old woman from Hong Kong, pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle 29 protected eastern box turtles from the United States into Canada using an inflatable kayak. She was apprehended by Border Patrol agents on June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan, Vermont, as she prepared to row across Lake Wallace into Canada, where the turtles were intended to be sold on the black market in Hong Kong. The turtles, wrapped in socks, are valued at approximately $1,000 each on the Chinese black market. Ng, who was living in Canada on a tourist visa and is believed to have acted with an accomplice paddling from the Canadian side, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, with sentencing scheduled for December. This case is part of a larger illegal trade in turtles, with the U.S. being a significant source of both legal and illegal turtle trade. The attempt highlights ongoing challenges in wildlife trafficking, particularly concerning vulnerable species like the eastern box turtle.