A woman whose designer crocodile-skin handbag was seized by the UK Border Force has triumphed in a test case bid to get it back . The £2,000 designer tote bag , hand-made in Japan , was a 50th birthday gift for Hampstead woman , Sabine Smouha , from her husband Jeremy , the director of an investments company . But , when it arrived in Britain in 2013 , customs officers confiscated it because Nile crocodiles are a protected species and it did n't have the right documentation . High end : A £2,000 designer tote bag , hand-made from Nile crocodile skinin Japan by exclusive designer Hikiji . The Border Force has repeatedly refused to return it to her , because it it did not have the required endangered species import permit . Now , however , Mrs Smouha - who said she was 'very sad to lose her birthday present ' - has been handed victory by a tribunal judge . Judge Anne Redston said the crocodile was farmed and Mrs Smouha had relied on the reputable Japanese manufacturer to get the formalities right . She had acted entirely honestly and the Border Force 's repeated refusal to hand over the bag was irrational and disproportionate . The judge said Mrs Smouha 's birthday was approaching and her husband wanted to buy her a special present . She spotted the 'very pretty bag ' on the website of elite Japanese handbag maker , Hikiji . The black bag , complete with bronze cowhide lining and matt gold finishings , was the creation of top designer , Mayumi Kondo . Her husband paid $ 3,400 for it and it arrived in the UK by express mail , in time for Mrs Smouha 's happy day . Sabine Smouha was handed a victory at the Royal Courts of Justice , left , after a two-year battle . Judge Anne Redston ordered UK Border Force to reconsider their ruling on a designer handbag made from Nile crocodile , right , that they confiscated on the grounds that it was not imported with the right documentation . The bag was made from the skin of a Nile crocodile , a protected species under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species ( CITES ) . But it did n't have the required documentation and customs officials seized it at the international mail hub , in Coventry . Representing herself , Mrs Smouha told the First-Tier Tribunal at the Royal Courts of Justice that she had been told by Hikiji that import formalities would be 'taken care of ' . Endangered species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ( CITES ) Countries all over the world have signed up to the agreement imposing special responsibilities on anyone importing any of the hundreds of plant and animal species listed in the convention . It 's designed to stop the illegal killing of these species by destroying the market . It applies to anything from that species , such as skin , fur and teeth . Under British and EU law , you must apply to the Department for Environment , Food and Rural Affairs for a permit before importing anything on the list . When something is imported , it must also have a permit proving it was sourced legally by the country of export . Without these documents , your items can be confiscated by customs officials - but you have the right to appeal . There is also other international legislation applying to the trade of endangered species . Some can impose fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars and carry jail terms . It was the first time that the Japanese company had exported to the UK , but she was unaware of that . The crocodile skin , which had been farmed 'in a controlled environment ' in Zambia , was legally imported into Japan before being re-exported . Judge Redston said : 'She was very sad to lose her birthday present and had done everything she could to remedy the position ' . She had even offered to 'pay a reasonable fine ' so long as the bag was returned to her . Ruling in Mrs Smouha 's favour , Judge Redston said the Border Force had failed to consider the individual facts of her case . The skin had not been smuggled into the UK in defiance of CITES and Mrs Smouha had 'reasonably relied ' upon Hikiji , whose duty it was to obtain an import permit . The judge added : 'Mrs Smouha did not ignore CITES . She communicated with Hikiji and understood that CITES had been complied with . 'She is not in business and the bag was a birthday present . This was her first experience of CITES . 'The bag cost $ 3,400 and she did everything she could to rectify the position after she realised the mistake . 'Mrs Smouha acted honestly and in good faith throughout ' . Judge Redston gave the Border Force six weeks to reach a fresh decision in the light of her ruling .
The bag was a 50th birthday gift from her investments manager husband . It was made in Japan from African Nile crocodile - an endangered species . Customs officials took it because 'endangered ' imports need special permits . Sabine Smouha from Hampstead has now won two-year battle for its return .