Chinese salon sold US$4.3 million in fake Botox in just six months, Hunan police say after raid that also hauled in counterfeit vitamin C injections
- More than 1,000 patients across more than 10 provinces were sold dodgy beauty treatments after a salon was found to be using unlicensed injections
- Five were arrested for endangering public health and not adhering to medical standards
A supplier of fake beauty treatments, including vitamin C and Botox injections, sold more than 30 million yuan (US$4.3 million) worth of products in six months to more than 1,000 patients across eastern China, according to a police investigation.
The treatments, which included counterfeit injections delivered with unlicensed equipment, were used on patients in more than 10 provinces, including Hunan, Fujian and Liaoning, Beijing News reported on Sunday.
Police in Changde city, Hunan province have arrested five suspects, believed to be behind the sales, for endangering public health and not adhering to medical standards.
Authorities were alerted to the scam during a surprise inspection of a beauty parlour in Hunan’s Hanshou county, in September 2017. The salon was found to be offering unlicensed hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and Botox injections as beauty treatments.
Police tracked down the dodgy supplies to a beauty salon owner surnamed Zuo in Changchun, Jilin province, who sold cosmetic drugs and equipment to a number of people in Jilin via WeChat.
During a search of Zuo’s salon, local police found more than 2,300 bottles of unlicensed hyaluronic acid – which is used to fill out facial wrinkles – and other beauty treatments, as well as invoices showing Zuo had supplied more than 1,000 people across 10 other provinces.