Authorities have seized unregistered skin-whitening cream worth over 500,000 baht from four factories during raids in four provinces.
Officers from the Consumer Protection Police Division and Food and Drug Administration officials on Thursday raided the factories in Chachoengsao, Sa Kaeo, Chon Buri and Ayutthaya provinces following social media advertisements that the "Cambodian cream with red cover" could whiten the skin within seven days no matter how dark the skin was.
Many people were lured by the advertisement claims of the product.
During the raids, police seized 1,989 jars, 523 bags of mixed cream, 30 tubes of vitamin C, 80kg of raw materials and equipment used in making the cream. The seized items were worth over 500,000 baht, Thai media reported.
The producers of the cream were arrested and charged with violating the Cosmetic Act for illegally making and selling cosmetic products without permission. The offences carry a jail term of up to six months and/or a fine of up to 50,000 baht.
FDA deputy secretary-general Supattra Boonserm said the products had no FDA labels and other required permits. This kind of the cream had been rampant in many areas in 2010, she said.
An initial examination found that the cream contained banned subtances such as mercury, hydroquinone, retinoic acid and steroids. Prolonged use may result in thinning of skin and photosensitivity, leading to cracks and extreme dryness.
Pol Col Srisak Khampeerayan, deputy commander of the Consumer Protection Police Division, said the suspects said the cream contained three ingredients. Two of them had been bought from Rong Kluea border market in Sa Kaeo while the other was locally sourced.
While the production cost was 20 baht a jar, it was sold for 120 baht. The factaories had the capacities to make 500 jars a day, said Pol Col Srisak.