by Mike Donoghue

BURLINGTON — A woman from China has been arrested in the Northeast Kingdom after authorities said she attempted to smuggle from Vermont into Canada 29 Eastern Box Turtles – which are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The U.S. Border Patrol intercepted Wang Yee Ng, 41, of Hong Kong as she prepared to use an inflatable kayak on Wallace Pond in Canaan to paddle into Canada to apparently meet her husband and a companion last Wednesday, federal court records claim.

The turtles are valued at over $1,000 each on the Chinese Black Market, according to court records.

Ng, who has been living in Canada with a temporary visa in recent years, was ordered jailed at a South Burlington prison following a hearing Friday afternoon on a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Border Patrol in federal court in Burlington, records show.

During the court hearing, Federal Magistrate Kevin J. Doyle said preliminary information from the Pre-Trial Services Office indicates the defendant owns a $1 million home in Calgary without a mortgage. Doyle said Ng and her husband also appear to have a home in Hong Kong valued at $5 million.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Alberti argued Ng is a serious risk to flee. He said she used a Tourist Visa from Canada multiple time to enter the United States apparently for the sole purpose of committing criminal acts.

He said Ng could be denied her re-entry into Canada due to her arrest here and the false misrepresentations to law enforcement. Alberti said she has no place to go and would be a serious flight risk. He also questioned her apparent deep financial resources to flee. He said in court papers that she has an incentive to go on the run to avoid imprisonment and deportation.

Alberti said the government has no information about any history of legitimate employment for her for the past two years. Her husband reportedly is employed as a truck driver, Alberti said.

Assistant Federal Defender Barclay Johnson proposed Ng be released on a bond between $2,000 and $5,000. He said he believed if convicted, his client would face either up to 6 months or 6 to 12 months in prison under the federal sentencing guidelines.

Doyle questioned whether a small appearance bond would ensure her appearance at future hearings. He noted Ng has two minor children and that her parents are in China and a sister in Hong Kong.

Doyle agreed to set a probable cause hearing for July 12.

U.S. Border Patrol Agent Blake Thilkey said the case began to unfold when Ng, who had become known to federal officials in recent months, was renting a property on Lake Wallace, which is known for smuggling activities.

Her husband, who was identified in court papers as Sio Wai Izzy Fung, 48, also of China, had secured a separate rental across the water on the Canadian side of the border, Thilkey said.

The Border Patrol deemed the double rental suspicious and conducted more investigation, Thilkey said.

Border Agents determined Ng actually entered the country at Buffalo, N.Y. on June 18 in a gray Ford Escape with Quebec registration plates. About a week later, agents observed her in Essex County.

Border Patrol Agents spotted Ng at an Airbnb in Canaan about 7:30 a.m. June 26 and she began to prepare the inflatable kayak near the shoreline, Thilkey said in court papers. About 8 a.m. Ng carried a duffle bag from the residence to the kayak, Thilkey said.

It was about that time that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported two people, including one believed to be her husband, had launched an inflatable watercraft on the Canadian side of Lake Wallace and began to paddle toward the United States, the Border Patrol said.

Two U.S. Border Patrol Agents in plainclothes arrived in an unmarked police vehicle and ran around the back of the rental property to find Ng standing on the bottom step of the stairs leading to the water. The kayak was in the water and directly in front were the duffle bag and paddle, Thilkey said.

Border Agents Thomas Russell and Kevin O’Dowd identified themselves as law enforcement officers and asked her if she understood English, Thilkey said. She said she spoke Cantonese.

Four other Border Patrol Agents arrived to assist. A cellphone she had hanging around her neck began ringing, but she was told not to answer it by the agents who feared she might warn co-conspirators, Thilkey said.

The woman tried to ignore the officers, but they seized the phone, the Border Patrol said. The agents used a Customs and Border Protection translation application to advise her she was being detained for suspected smuggling due to the circumstances, Thilkey said.

The federal agents transported Ng to the Border Patrol Station at Beecher Falls for further investigation. Russell, O’Dowd and Thilkey attempted to interview her through a Cantonese interpreter. After being advised of her Constitutional rights, Ng asked about getting a lawyer, and the investigation halted.

Ng did allow for a search of the rental house, rental car and the duffle bag. The bag was partially unzipped and had socks with some sort of animal claw poking out, Thilkey said. One sock was moving, he said.

A video captured the agents opening the bag fully about 10:08 a.m. and removing the 29 turtles that were individually wrapped in socks, Thilkey wrote in court papers. Photos were taken of the turtles were sent to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Special Agent Eric Holmes, who was able to give a preliminary identification due to their distinct pattern, Thilkey said.

The United States and Canada, along with about 181 other countries have signed onto a multilateral treaty known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It is designed to regulate international trade when there is a threat to their continued existence, Thilkey wrote.

The smuggling site is called Lake Wallace by the Border Patrol in court papers, but it also is known by locals as Wallace Pond. It is one of three international bodies of water in Vermont – along with Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog. About a third of Lake Wallace is considered in Vermont and the rest in Canada.

Thilkey said the early stages of the case began when federal investigators became suspicious of an Ontario-registered rented vehicle driving on Jackson’s Lodge Road in Canaan on May 20. The lodge is normally open only from Memorial Day to Labor Day and the Border Patrol is aware that smugglers often use the rural road to facilitate smuggling of humans and drugs and for other illegal activities, Thilkey said.

The car pulled into a rented property that is available through Airbnb, he said

Surveillance showed the woman made multiple trips from the vehicle into the rented property on Monday May 20, Victoria Day, a Canadian holiday. Investigation showed the vehicle had entered the United States at Alburgh on the west coast of Vermont on Saturday May 18 and the driver was alone.

The vehicle returned to Canada by way of the Beecher Falls (Vt.)-Hereford, Quebec Port of Entry about 11:45 a.m. May 21, records show. They also showed Ng entered from Canada at Niagara Falls, N.Y. on May 7 and was spotted in Vermont two days later before returning to Canada through the Hereford Port of Entry on May 10.

Ng claimed during the May 7 and May 18 visits that her destination was Fort Lee, N.J. It was unclear if she ever arrived there.