Two women have been arrested for illegally providing cosmetic injection services from private homes in Bangkok and Samut Prakan in a crackdown on unlicensed beauty practitioners, according to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB).
Police seized more than 1,100 medical products and equipment worth over 200,000 baht from the two premises.
The investigation began after the Department of Health Service Support (DHSS) received complaints that unqualified individuals were advertising cosmetic injection services through private messages on social media. Customers were asked to pay a deposit before being directed to private houses that had been converted into illegal clinics.
During the first raid in Bangkok's Bung Kum district on June 29, authorities found a 31-year-old woman injecting Botox into a client's face.
The woman admitted she did not have a licence to practise medicine and learned injection techniques by observing doctors while working at cosmetic clinics for six to seven years. After leaving her job, she began offering treatments herself, advertising on Facebook and charging 790-4,990 baht for Botox, fillers and skin treatments.
She told police she had operated the business for more than two years, treated two to five customers a day and earned 100,000-120,000 baht a month. She purchased the products online.
The second raid on Thursday targeted a house in Samut Prakan's Muang district where a 25-year-old woman was injecting Botox into a customer's face.
The woman told police she had worked at cosmetic clinics for several years before setting up her own business. She charged 1,000-5,000 baht for cosmetic injections and earned about 30,000 baht a month over the past two years.
Both suspects face charges including operating an unlicensed medical facility, practising medicine without a licence and illegally selling pharmaceutical products.
CIB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Natthasak Chaowanasai on Monday urged the public to verify clinics and practitioners before undergoing cosmetic procedures. He warned illegal practitioners and unlicensed clinics to stop services or face tough legal action.
