The multi-billion-dollar industry of illegally trafficking wildlife was front and center in federal court on Tuesday morning. The Homeland Security investigation led to two foreign nationals being arrested in Edmonds in November of 2021. On Tuesday, Herdade Lokua learned he would spend the next 20 months in prison, and Jospin Mujangi was sentenced to 14 months. The investigation led to the seizure of $3.5 million worth of elephant ivory, white rhinoceros horn, and pangolin scales. Lokua and Mujangi, both from the Democratic Republic of Congo, allegedly admitted that beginning in 2019, they agreed to smuggle the contraband into the United States. The investigation also found that they cut up the ivory, painted it black, and falsely labeled the packages as containing wood. University of Washington Professor Sam Wasser's research was used in the investigation. When KING 5 interviewed him last year, Wasser explained how he uses genetic testing of illegal ivory shipments seized by law enforcement to uncover the international criminal networks behind the trafficking. READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/ivory-traffickers-sentenced-seattle/281-0fbb22f5-3578-4e28-9bf3-99e9ab6c396d