South Carolina’s man pleads guilty to sell parts of whale

South Carolina’s husband has pleaded guilty of importing and selling bones and bone bones, violation of federal laws on wildlife, the Ministry of Justice reports.

69 -year -old Lauren H. Delash from Saint -Shelena Island, recognized the import of sperm parts to South Carolina, including at least 30 shipments from Australia, Latvia, Norway and Ukraine, between 2021 and 2024, according to US Prosecutor’s Office, South Carolina County. Prosecutors stated that Deloach has instructed suppliers to designated objects as “plastic” bypass the US customs detection and sell at least 85 items on Ebay.

During the search warrant, the authorities withdrew from a delash for about $ 20,000. Deloach confessed that he sells his teeth and bones from July 2022 to September 2024, prosecutors said.

Sperm of whales, protected by the law on endangered types and other international agreements, are valued by poachers for their parts and are sold in the illegal market. WITH Leli Act and The law on the protection of marine mammal (MMPA) are used to protect vulnerable species, the acting prosecutor Brook B. Andrews said for South Carolina.

“Illegal trade in wildlife is a multi-billion-dollar global business that threatens protected animals and fuels of organized crime,” Andrews said. “We will continue to apply the Lacey Law, and the law on the protection of marine mammals is so vulnerable as sperm, not killed or sold on details.”

Delroach faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $ 250,000 on charges of Lance Crime and maximum one -year prison punishment for a violation of MMPA misconduct. The US and wildlife service and the national oceanic and atmospheric administration of law enforcement agencies have investigated the case.

“Commitment to bring justice to those who exploited protected wild animals”

Nathan Williams, lawyer Delash, said USA Today that “regrets his actions and that they are not a representative of the other productive life he spent” and looks “forward to get it behind.”

The US District Judge David K. Norton has received the blame for the fault and will condemn the South Carolina man after reviewing the report on the sentence prepared by the US Probation Office.

The Office of the US and Wildlife Service of the USA Director of the Director of the DUG OLT said that whales are one of the most vulnerable to the illegal harvest, which is fueled by commercial interests.

“Illegal trade in spermatous teeth and ear bones contributes to the monetization of the population of marine mammals, which America protects through federal laws and international treaties,” Ault said. “In the framework of the” Operating Raw Agreement ” – a nationwide repression on the illegal trade in whale units – this investigation demonstrates our commitment to bring justice to those who use protected wildlife to profit.”

The last incident associated with protected wildlife

Case Deloch is the last incident associated with protected wildlife to make headlines.

In February 2025, wildlife officials in California announced that three people were convicted and fined for illegal ownership of protected and endangered animals. Their crimes were exposed after two people found ordinary wildlife workers that they were A turtle smuggling from a sea turtle on flight.

“Wildlife is the fourth largest organized crime in the world after drug trafficking, forgery and human trafficking,” the US Department of Internal Security reports.

Deposit: Thao NGUYEN, USA TODAY

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