SEATTLE (AP) — Two foreign nationals from the Democratic Republic of Congo were arrested in Edmonds and indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy and money laundering charges for allegedly smuggling elephant ivory and rhino horns.
Court documents say Herdade Lokua and his cousin Jospin Mujangi are accused of working with an co-conspirator to facilitate four shipments of the poached items into Seattle in August, September and May of 2020.
Both men were arrested Nov. 2 when they arrived to negotiate further shipments.
On Thursday in U.S. District Court, they pleaded not guilty to the charges.