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Maui man arrested for possession, trafficking of protected wildlife

COURTESY DLNR
                                Law enforcement officers confiscated dozens of items, including whale tooth ivory, elephant ivory, walrus ivory, and turtle shells, from the Antique Freak in Wailuku.
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COURTESY DLNR

Law enforcement officers confiscated dozens of items, including whale tooth ivory, elephant ivory, walrus ivory, and turtle shells, from the Antique Freak in Wailuku.

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Maui man arrested for possession, trafficking of protected wildlife

State officers have arrested and charged a Kula man for the illegal possession and trafficking of protected wildlife, according to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.

DLNR said state and federal law officers on Tuesday executed a search warrant for the Antique Freak, an antique shop owned by Shane Rosberg, 42, in Wailuku, and confiscated dozens of items, including whale tooth ivory, elephant ivory, walrus ivory, and turtle shells.

Officers then arrested Rosberg, and charged him with 26 counts each of wildlife trafficking and possession of endangered and protected wildlife. His bail was set at $13,000.

Under state law, DLNR said, no person shall sell, offer to sell, purchase, trade, possess with intent to sell, or barter for any part or product from protected animals including the sea turtle, elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, great ape, hippopotamus, lion, pangolin, cheetah, jaguar, leopard, monk seal, walrus, or narwhal.

Officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement teamed up to conduct the search, while the Maui Police Department processed the suspect.

Rosberg is scheduled to appear in Wailuku District Court at 10;30 a.m. on June 15. He faces up to a year in jail, and could be fined up to $10,000.

“Law enforcement takes these violations seriously,” said DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla in a news release, “and we hope this case serves as a warning to anyone who may be peddling or possessing items with the intent to sell, made from endangered or protected species.”

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