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While the prosecutions in Canada and the U.S. are unfolding separately, the dozens of charges laid in the two cases appear to stem from the same alleged, cross-border tusk-smuggling ring.

a utility trailer modified with a false bottom, zip ties, custom-made felt shipping sleeves, packing foam, plywood, metal strapping and screws and shipping labels.

The tusks — which routinely fetch prices of thousands of dollars each, and even $10,000 or more for superb specimens — can be sold within Canada or to select international markets, but not to the U.S. or other countries that have laws forbidding imports of certain animal parts.

Sometimes reaching three metres in length, the spiraled, spear-like narwhal tusk is coveted by collectors as one of the most exquisite creations of nature. The tusk — which is actually a kind of super-sensitive tooth that grows from the upper jaw of most male narwhals and may play a role in mate selection — is also believed to have inspired the ancient myth about magical horses with a long, perfect horn projecting from their heads: the unicorn.

The two Americans named in the U.S. indictment face up to 20 years in prison and potential fines of $250,000 or more. Zarauskas and Conrad are scheduled to appear in court in Maine on Thursday.

The names of their alleged Canadian co-conspirators are blacked out in almost every instance in the U.S. court document, which was obtained by Postmedia News from the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. But a “Gregory R. Logan” is twice identified as the Canadian recipient of payments from U.S. buyers of narwhal tusks.