Nancy Gonzalez, a Colombian luxury handbag designer, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegally importing handbags made from the skins of protected reptiles.
Gonzalez was found to have violated international law when she imported illegal bags made from pythons and caimans. It is believed that she recruited people to carry her high-end handbags on regular flights, sneaking in around $2 million worth of merchandise into the United States.
She was captured in Cali, Colombia, in 2022 and extradited to the US to face the accusations. According to her attorneys, the 71-year-old designer has already experienced significant repercussions for her actions. Following her arrest, the Colombian company she had founded, employing a workforce of 300 individuals, predominantly women, regrettably faced financial difficulties and had to shut down.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has uncovered an ongoing operation involving paid couriers smuggling handbags made from protected reptile skins into the US. The bags used to be sold in luxury stores such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Harrods.
CITES rules tightly control the caiman and python trade, but it is not prohibited. Gonzalez did not acquire the necessary import permits as required by regulators. Between February 2016 and April 2019, authorities claim that Gonzalez sought assistance from people she knew, including acquaintances, relatives, and colleagues, to transport the bags on commercial flights to the US and then deliver them to her showroom in New York.
The attorneys representing Gonzalez questioned the claim that each skin was valued at around $140. They also stated that all of the hides were sourced from captive-bred caiman and pythons.
Judge Robert Scola, who delivered his sentence based on this information, found Gonzalez’s behavior extremely concerning. He noted that US officials had warned her in 2016 and 2017 about the importance of adhering to these regulations.
The attorneys for Gonzalez showcased a video from 2019 that included well-known buyers from Bergdorf Goodman, Saks, and other retailers expressing their deep appreciation for the designer’s exceptional creativity, productivity, and compassion.
