Celebrity handbag designer Nancy Gonzalez jailed for wildlife smuggling - BBC News

Nancy Gonzalez recruited relatives to smuggle purses made of illicit python and caiman into the US.

13 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Max MatzaBBC NewsA Colombian luxury handbag designer who pleaded guilty to smuggling purses made of the skins of protected reptiles has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Nancy Gonzalez, who has made handbags carried by Sex and the City actors and Britney Spears, was sentenced on Monday in a Miami federal court.

Gonzalez, 71, broke an international treaty by illegally importing bags made from caimans and pythons.

Officials say she enlisted relatives to bring handbags and totes into the US.

Both Colombia and the US are signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which protects caimans - which are similar to alligators - and pythons, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68879020

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