Authorities use elephant DNA to bust multimillion dollar trafficking scheme
Authorities in the United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) used elephant DNA to bust a multimillion dollar animal trafficking scheme, CNN reported on Wednesday.
The arrest of two men last week in Edmonds, Wash., led to the seizure of more than a ton of illegal elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn, popular goods in the international illegal wildlife trafficking market, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
The men were indicted by a federal grand jury on 11 counts of conspiracy, money laundering, smuggling and Lacey Act violations after officials say they determined that the two used a middle man to smuggle four packages into the United States.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison on the smuggling and money laundering charges and five years on the conspiracy and Lacey Act violations, notes the Justice Department.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/authorities-use-elephant-dna-to-bust-multimillion-dollar-trafficking-scheme/ar-AAQyPW9
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