Woman pleads guilty to trying to smuggle protected turtles

Ng was arrested June 26 at an Airbnb in Canaan, Vermont, as she prepared to board an inflatable kayak on Wallace Lake with a duffel bag, which authorities said contained 29 turtles- live boxes individually wrapped in socks, according to the court. records.

As part of a plea agreement filed Tuesday, Ng agreed that the fair market value of each turtle is $2,000 and that the 29 in total are worth more than $40,000. Authorities said eastern box turtles are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and that Ng did not have the required permits to export the turtles from the states -United to Canada.

Shortly before intercepting Ng at the lake, U.S. Border Patrol agents were informed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that a “co-conspirator” was paddling toward the middle of the lake from the Canadian side, according to the facts presented in the report. plea agreement.

The alleged co-conspirator was not identified in the agreement. A Border Patrol agent’s affidavit filed in the case in June said investigators believed Ng’s husband was renting property across the lake from the Airbnb Ng rented.

Authorities first noticed Ng on May 20, when she was seen driving an Ontario-registered vehicle along Jackson’s Lodge Road in Canaan, an area known to authorities as frequently used for smuggling, according to the affidavit from border patrol agent.

Officers found the vehicle parked at an Airbnb rental on Vermont Route 114, which runs along Wallace Lake, “an international body of water that has been used for human and drug trafficking,” according to the affidavit.

Authorities determined that Ng had entered the United States from Canada two days earlier and had also entered the United States from Canada on May 7, according to the affidavit. The Border Patrol agent wrote that those dates “corresponded” to different times she rented the property on Wallace Lake, which were confirmed by the Airbnb owner.

Meanwhile, investigators discovered that a person believed to be Ng’s husband had posted a notice on May 23 about an Airbnb rental directly across the lake from Ng’s rental. This led agents to believe the two locations “suggested possible smuggling activity.”

A few weeks later, Border Patrol agents at the Beecher Falls station in Canaan were informed that Ng had entered the United States via Buffalo, New York, and had rented the same Airbnb with a date registration deadline set for June 25. rental and watched Ng arrive that evening.

Officers arrested Ng the next morning as she prepared to paddle with a heavy sports bag containing the 29 box turtles.

Authorities also seized Ng’s cellphone, which contained communications “illustrating that she attempted to smuggle the turtles into Canada so that they could eventually be sold for a profit in Hong Kong, China,” according to the ‘agreement.

Investigators said the turtles were first obtained in New Jersey, based on Ng’s cellphone communications and GPS data from his rental car, according to the plea agreement. She was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 1, accusing her of attempting to export goods.

Ng’s lawyer declined to comment when contacted on Saturday.

Nick Stoico can be contacted at [email protected].