Wildlife smuggling ring broken up... in Canada

Usually when the words "endangered wildlife" and "smuggling" get used in a headline, the story is set in some exotic tropical location. Not this time. From Syracuse.com:

A North Country woman who smuggled more than 200 turtles, alligators, iguanas and other wildlife into Canada pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Syracuse. The endangered and threatened animals were worth "hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Benedict in a news release. Olivia Terrance, 28 of Hogansburg, NY, faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced Aug. 5, Benedict said. Court papers show she smuggled the rare animals across the Saint Lawrence River into Canada on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, which spans both countries. The animals were transported on two dates: by car on July 8, 2009 and by boat Aug. 4, 2010, according to a memorandum by U.S. District Court Judge Norman Mordue. Terrance was delivering the animals to her cousin, Dennis Day, in Canada, to sell to retailers and collectors, prosecutors said.

Read the whole story here, eh.