CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A Beaufort County man must pay thousands of dollars to a wildlife conservation fund for his role in the trafficking of sperm whale parts.

Lauren Deloach, 69, of St. Helena Island, has been sentenced to 30 days of home confinement and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine for violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Lacey Act.

The United States Department of Justice says Deloach imported, sold and was in possession of the teeth and bones of sperm whales from September 2021 through September of last year.

Deloach is said to have falsely labeled shipments with these illegal whale parts in order to avoid law enforcement detection.

In court, the government showed two sperm whale teeth and one ear bone, which they say were just some of the nearly 50 whale parts De

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