A handbag designer was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday for smuggling crocodile bags, ABC News reported.
Fashion designer Nancy Gonzalez, 71, known for her celebrity-endorsed accessories, received a sentence of 18 months in prison after admitting to smuggling crocodile handbags into the U.S. from Colombia. The sentencing took place in a Miami federal court where Gonzalez faced charges stemming from her orchestrating a complex smuggling operation that violated U.S. wildlife laws, according to ABC News.
Gonzalez, who was arrested in 2022 in Cali, Colombia, and later extradited to the U.S., was accused of setting up a network that involved using couriers to transport her luxury handbags on commercial flights to exclusive showrooms and major fashion events in New York, the outlet stated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald likened her to a drug kingpin in his courtroom…
