China Police has cracked down a supply network of unlicensed and counterfeit beauty products. According to the authorities, nearly 30m yuan($4.3m) worth of fake products were sold within six months. The fake items include Botox, Vitamin C injections, as well as illegally imported hyaluronic acid.

Botox and other botulinum neurotoxins are commonly used for treating facial wrinkles. Hyaluronic acid injections ease the signs of aging. Chinese authorities charged five people in connection with the case. Counterfeit products are sold and used across China.

Fake beauty products

Authorities were first alerted in September last year while inspecting a beauty parlor in Changde city. These products sold at the salon were traced back to a supplier in Jilin province-identified only at Zuo- who was selling them via WeChat messaging app.

Zuo has already sold unlicensed products to more than 1000 people in various provinces including Hunan, Fujian, Liaonin, Guangdong, Jilin, and Qinghai. This information was found from Zuo’s shipping records. Police found Zuo’s warehouse consisting over 2,300 bottles of hyaluronic acid. The skincare products usually contain Hyaluronic acid.

Zuo, along with at least two other suspects, is behind the bars for selling fake and unregulated products.

China- Beware of fake Botox

China leads as one of the world’s biggest markets for plastic surgery. The country has a booming demand for non-invasive treatments. Chinese authorities have previously warned about the hazards of fake beauty products after patients ended up in the hospital.

Doctors consider botox safe only when stored and administered properly. Otherwise, it is a poison derived substance and causes serious harms if not used properly. In 2016, several Hong Kong Patients reported health problems after receiving Botox injections in beauty salons.

According to the China Association of Plastics and Aesthetics, up to 70% of China Botox and Hyaluronic acid are counterfeit or smuggled in the country. Research from CITIC Securities suggests that Chinese investment bank suggests that China’s medical cosmetology market is expected to be worth 300 billion yuan by 2020.