Famous fashion designer jailed for smuggling protected wildlife handbags into the US

April 23, 2024, 12:06 PM

A Colombian fashion designer has been convicted of smuggling handbags made from the skins of protected reptiles into the US for fashion shows.

Nancy Gonzales, 71, was sentenced Monday in a federal court in Miami to 18 months in prison after violating an international treaty by illegally importing bags made from pythons and caimans.

Gonzalez, who has created handbags used by Britney Spears and Sex and the City actors, admitted to recruiting couriers to carry up to four products each on commercial flights for high-profile events such as New York Fashion Week.

The designer was arrested in Cali, Colombia in 2022 and later extradited to the US. Officials said she enlisted friends, family and employees to transport the bags between February 2016 and April 2019.

The handbags were made from captive-bred animals and were worth about $2 million, according to prosecutors, but Gonzalez’s lawyers said each skin cost about $140.

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The trade in pythons and caimans is not banned, but is tightly regulated under the rules of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to which the US and Colombia are signatories.

Gonzalez has not obtained the necessary import permits required by these regulations.

“This investigation uncovered a multi-year scheme in which paid couriers smuggled black-and-white handbags made from CITES-protected reptile skins into the U.S. to be sold for thousands of dollars,” said Edward Grace of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

He added: “The Service will continue to seek justice for protected species exploited for profit, and we will hold accountable those who seek to circumvent international controls designed to regulate their sustainable trade.”

The bags were worn by Victoria Beckham and Salma Hayek, according to the Associated Press, and were sold in luxury stores including Harrods, according to Women’s Wear Daily.

Gonzalez told the court: “From the bottom of my heart, I apologize to the United States of America.

“It has never been my intention to offend a country to which I owe enormous gratitude. I made bad decisions under pressure.”