Celebrity fashion designer arrested in Colombia

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(9 Jul 2022)
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COLOMBIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE
Bogotá - 8 July 2022
1. De Barberi being escorted off place at CATAM Military Airport
HEADLINE: Designer accused of smuggling crocodile handbags
2. Suspects being led away
ANNOTATION: A fashion designer whose accessories have been used by celebrities and characters from the Sex and the City TV series has been arrested in Colombia.
COLOMBIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE
Bogotá - 8 July 2022
3. Various STILLS of the products manufactured with crocodile hides
ANNOTATION: The celebrity designer Nancy Gonzalez faces extradition to the United States, Colombian prosecutors said Friday.
ANNOTATION: Gonzales faces charges in the U.S. Southern District of Florida that could lead to up to 25 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
ANNOTATION: While the sale of some crocodile skins is legal, it requires a certificate, which can be costly and hard to obtain.
ANNOTATION: The handbags can sell for up to $10,000 in designer stores in the U.S and Europe.
4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Deicy Jaramillo Rivera, Colombian Prosecutor General's Office specialised director against human rights violations:
"Three people were captured and extradited for illegally sending leather goods made from exotic animals to the United States. The arrest was carried out in Cali, Valle del Cauca. Those captured were Nancy Teresa Gonzales de Barberi, representative of a company that manufactures leather products and related materials."
COLOMBIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE
Cali - 8 July 2022
5. National Police escorting arrested designer Nancy Gonzalez de Barberi
ANNOTATION: Salma Hayek, Britney Spears and Victoria Beckham reportedly bought her carefully crafted handbags
ANNOTATION: Though it's not clear if any of those were among the bags allegedly brought in illegally.
6. National Police searching de Barberi's property
7. ANNOTATION: Her work also was included in a 2008 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
STORYLINE:
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities and characters in the "Sex and the City" TV series, was arrested in her hometown of Cali, Colombia, on Friday.
Colombian prosecutors said the designer Nancy Gonzalez faces extradition to the United States on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags.
Gonzalez faces charges in the U.S. Southern District of Florida that could lead to up to 25 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
While the sale of some crocodile skins is legal, it requires a certificate, which can be costly and hard to obtain.
Investigators in the United States and Colombia say that Gonzalez smuggled hundreds of handbags by paying passengers to carry them in their personal luggage on flights to the United States and instructed them to say that the items were gifts for their relatives if they were asked any questions by customs agents.
Two associates, Diego Mauricio Rodríguez Giraldo and Jhon Camilo Aguilar Jaramillo, were also arrested.
The handbags can sell for up to $10,000 in designer stores in the U.S and Europe.
In 2019, two investigators working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told The Associated Press that as many as 12 people carrying four handbags each boarded a single flight to the United States with round-trip tickets paid for by Gonzalez.
The investigators asked for their identities to remain anonymous in order to not jeopardize their probe.
Her work also was included in a 2008 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
An email sent to Gonzalez's website seeking comment was not immediately returned.
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