BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A New Jersey man accused of smuggling tusks from protected narwhals into the United States was sentenced Monday to nearly three years in prison for conspiracy, smuggling and money laundering.
Andrew Zarauskas, 61, of Union, New Jersey, was accused of buying more than 30 tusks over nearly six years from two Canadians who brought them illegally across the border, sometimes in a hidden compartment in a trailer. He was sentenced to 33 months and also ordered by a federal judge to forfeit six narwhal tusks, a narwhal skull and about $85,000.
Narwhals are known as the unicorns of the sea for their spiral tusks that can grow longer than 8 feet. The marine mammals, which are native to Arctic waters, are protected by the U.S. and Canada.
Republican Herald | News | republicanherald.com
Andrew Zarauskas, 61, of Union, New Jersey, was accused of buying more than 30 tusks over nearly six years from two Canadians who brought them illegally across the border, sometimes in a hidden compartment in a trailer. He was sentenced to 33 months and also ordered by a federal judge to forfeit six narwhal tusks, a narwhal skull and about $85,000.
Narwhals are known as the unicorns of the sea for their spiral tusks that can grow longer than 8 feet. The marine mammals, which are native to Arctic waters, are protected by the U.S. and Canada.
Republican Herald | News | republicanherald.com
