N.J. man convicted of narwhal tusk trafficking
A federal jury on Friday convicted a New Jersey man of illegally trafficking and smuggling narwhal tusks.
Sixty-year-old Andrew Zarauskas, of Union, was also found guilty of conspiracy and money laundering violations.
Investigators said Zarauskas from 2002 through 2008 bought about 33 narwhal tusks that he knew were illegally imported into the United States.
Zarauskas and a number of co-conspirators purchased the stuff by mailing checks to a Bangor, Maine address or directly to a Canadian supplier, who would buy the tusks from retail stores in northern Canada.
The supplier would allegedly smuggle the tusks into the U.S. through Maine, driving to a FedEx facility in Bangor and shipping them around the country. Prosecutors said the Canadian connect supplied the buyers with more material than they could resell.
Often referred to as "the unicorn of the sea," the narwhal is guarded by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice. It's illegal to import narwhal parts into the U.S. or to sell them for anything other than scientific research or uses that enhance the species' survival. Still, the animal's long tusks are commonly collected for display purposes and can fetch large sums of money.
Investigators said one member of the tusk trafficking ring, Jay Conrad, of Lakeland, Tenn., sold between $400,000 and $1 million worth of narwhal tusks. A second co-conspirator, Eddie Dunn, of Eads, Tenn., sold about $1.1 million worth of the stuff.
Conrad pleaded guilty Jan. 7 to illegally trafficking narwhal tusks, conspiring to launder money and conspiring to illegally import and traffic narwhal tusks. In a plea agreement unsealed the same day, Dunn pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic and to illegally trafficking narwhal tusks.
Dunn, who faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, is scheduled to be sentenced March 20. Sentencing dates have not yet been set for Zarauskas or Conrad. Each man faces up to 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine. A fourth co-defendant is awaiting extradition from Canada.
"Zarauskas and his co-conspirators flouted U.S. law and international agreements that protect marine mammals such as the narwhal for their own personal financial benefit," acting assistant Attorney General Robert Dreher said in a statement. "The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute those engaged in this insidious trade in order to protect species for future generations to enjoy."
