Woman admits trying to smuggle 29 turtles from US to Canada by kayak

A male eastern box turtle moves across a path at Wildwood Lake Sanctuary. Credit: AP

A woman has pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle 29 turtles from the United States into Canada by kayaking them across a lake.

Wan Yee Ng, a 41-year-old from China, was arrested in June at an Airbnb in Canaan, Vermont.

She was about to get into an inflatable kayak with a duffel bag, which contained the eastern box turtles, a protected species.

The reptiles can fetch as much as $1,000 (£765) each on the Chinese black market, according to court documents.

Her mobile phone was seized, and police later found evidence showing she intended to eventually sell the turtles for a profit in Hong Kong.

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.

She is scheduled to be sentenced in December and faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (£191,292).

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