Raids on an inner Bangkok beauty clinic catering to foreigners and an old rice mill in Suphan Buri province led to the seizure of illegal medicines and dietary supplements as well as illicit silicone implants, worth altogether about 9.5 million baht.
Pol Col Neti Wongkularp, a superintendent of the Consumer Protection Police Division, said on Monday that officials raided a luxury beauty clinic at Gaysorn Tower in Pathumwan district of Bangkok on Friday.
The clinic offered medical services, therapy and Thai traditional medical treatment mainly to foreigners, but it administered imported and unregistered medicines and sold dietary supplements with hazardous medicinal content, he said.
According to the superintendent, the clinic tested clients' blood and then proposed treatment courses including detoxification and anti-ageing as well as liver and brain stimulation treatment to help clients get over jetlag. The cost of these packages ranged from 1,000 to 2 million baht each.
During their search at the clinic, police and Food and Drug Administration officials found 252 packets of unregistered medicines and dietary supplements worth altogether about 5.98 million baht.
Directors of the clinic were charged with selling unregistered medicines and food with incorrect labels. Doctors working at the premise were charged with failing to provide necessary equipment, tools, medicines and medical supplies at the clinic.
All names were withheld. Police explained that they were still questioning the suspects.
- Old mill-
Pol Col Tharakorn Lertporncharoen, deputy commander of the Consumer Protection Police Division, said police and FDA officials searched an old rice mill in tambon Wang Wa of Sri Prachan district in Suphan Buri province on Friday. The premise was used to illegally produce silicone implants for beauty clinics in many provinces, he said.
There were machines used to produce nasal and forehead silicone implants, silicone moulds, 1,098 nasal and forehead silicone implants and production tools, worth about 3.50 million baht.
A 33-year-old woman was arrested there for illegal production of the goods. She allegedly said the business had been in operation for about two years.
Officials also raided about 30 clinics that bought silicone implants from the illegal plant and seized about 16,000 illegal silicone implants together with related products, worth altogether about 2.93 million baht.
Such silicone implants cost 60-80 baht apiece to make, while the clinics charged each client 4,900-50,000 baht, Pol Col Tharakorn said.
Since last year, the clinics had performed cosmetic surgery of 1,621 clients - nasal operations for 1,436 of them, chin operations for 154 and combined nose-and-chin jobs for 31 clients, the deputy commander said.
Staff of the clinics would be charged with selling illegal, unsafe and unregistered medical equipment, he said.