Officials from the Department of Special Investigation and Food and Drug Administration have raided 12 shops and warehouses of fake botox, dermal fillers and stem-cell products worth 80 million baht in Bangkok.
DSI director-general Paisit Wongmuang said on Thursday that the raids took place on Wednesday in Ratchadaphisek, Suan Luang, Hua Mak, Happy Land, Bang Kapi, Wang Thonglang, Lat Phrao, Sukhumvit and Surawongse areas and officials found about 400,000 pirated products there.
According to him, officials found evidence of financial transactions worth about 800 million baht in relation to the raided beauty shops and warehouses.
Pol Lt Col Payao Thongsen, DSI's director for intellectual property cases, said the products were smuggled into the country and smugglers were linked with past cases of infected breasts due to the use of the fake fillers.
During the raids, officials also found unregistered glutathione and sheep placenta, as well as fat-reduction and anaesthetic injection products.
"The networks advertised products on Instagram and Line applications. They sold them to many groups of customers, including their own beauty shops and other beauty outlets in Bangkok," he said.
"The products were also sent to the customers who injected them by themselves and charged others for the service. They were mailed by private services to customers in Bangkok and other provinces," Pol Lt Col Payao said.
FDA secretary-general Tares Krassanairawiwong and his deputy Supattra Boonserm said facial injections had to be done by experienced doctors or patients could suffer drooping eyelids, serious breathing difficulties, blindness, infection or other life-threatening symptoms.
