New Jersey man facing jail for smuggling tusks of 'unicorn of the sea'

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/12/narwhal-tusk-smuggling-unicorn-sea-new-jersey

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A New Jersey man convicted of smuggling narwhal tusks is going to federal prison for nearly three years.

A federal judge in Maine imposed the 33-month term on Andrew Zarauskas of Union for conspiracy, smuggling and money laundering. He must also 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 8ft. They are protected by the US and Canada.

Prosecutors said the tusks were smuggled into Maine from Canada and shipped to Zarauskas and a Tennessee man.

Zarauskas’s lawyer, Steve Smith, said his client thought he had bought legal tusks. Smith said there will be an appeal. His 61-year-old client was given a three-month delay to report to prison because of “health considerations”.