Famous handbag designer Nancy Gonzalez has been convicted of wildlife smuggling

A Colombian designer of luxury handbags who pleaded guilty to smuggling wallets made from the skins of protected reptiles has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Nancy Gonzalez, who created handbags worn by Sex in the City actors and Britney Spears, was sentenced Monday in a federal court in Miami.

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

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

Both Colombia and the US have signed 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.

The trade in caimans and pythons is not prohibited, but is strictly regulated under CITES rules.

Gonzalez never obtained the necessary import permits that regulators required.

Officials say Gonzalez recruited friends, family and employees to ship the bags to the U.S. on passenger airlines between February 2016 and April 2019 before then sending them to her New York showroom.

The bags were carried by celebrities Victoria Beckham and Salma Hayek, according to the Associated Press (AP), and were included in the 2008 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

According to Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), the bags were also once sold in luxury stores such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Harrods.

“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.

“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,” he added.

Gonzalez was arrested in Cali, Colombia in 2022 and extradited to the US to face the charges.

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

“It was never my intention to offend a country to which I owe enormous gratitude. I have made poor decisions under pressure.”