COMPANY ORDERED TO FORFEIT ALL ILLEGAL PRODUCTS
Gzuniga Ltd – a luxury handbag company – got into big trouble for illegally importing into the U.S. items made from Caiman and Python skin; species protected by international agreements.
Apparently, company representatives, including its founder, purportedly engaged in a plot to use couriers to transport hundreds of undeclared handbags and other items from Columbia to the United States via passenger airlines. And upon arrival, the products were transferred to a company showroom in New York where they were displayed and sold.
An indictment charged the individuals with “one count of conspiracy and two counts of smuggling” for their illegal importing activities from February 2016 to April 2019. After pleading guilty to the charges back in November 2023, sentencing occurred on April 22, 2024.
The company was ordered to forfeit all illegal products and was banned from engaging in any activities which involve the “commercial trade in wildlife,” and sentenced to serve three years of probation. Sentences for the individual involved ranged from 18 to 22 months, with credit for time served. They will also be on supervised released (for varying periods) and must pay a special assessment.
In written statement, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida noted that, “The United States, in company with the international community, has established a system for overseeing the trafficking in protected species of wildlife. That system relies on a system of permits and oversight by many agencies and demands strict compliance by all those engaged in such trade …. The press of business, production deadlines or other economic factors are not justification for anyone to knowingly flout the system and attempt to write their own exceptions to wildlife trafficking laws. In cooperation with our international partners, our Office will continue to require strict adherence to laws that protect our endangered species.”
What a bunch of snakes.
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