Overview
- Operation Zlata, carried out April 8–9, shut three home clinics in Reus, Burjassot, and Pilar de la Horadada and led to one arrest and three suspects under investigation.
- Officers seized 1,248 vials of botulinum toxin, 382 prefilled hyaluronic acid syringes, 269 vials of hyaluronidase, lidocaine, and more than 1,000 needles and syringes.
- The network bought medicines fraudulently from China and other Asian countries and shipped them from a storage site in Alicante across Spain and to Lithuania and the United Kingdom, with most parcels sent domestically.
- Clients found the services through social media posts that pitched Botox for €150–€200, far below typical prices, in settings without medical licenses, sanitary authorization, or staff qualified to handle adverse reactions.
- AEMPS is testing the seized products as the Guardia Civil continues the probe, and officials warn that only licensed doctors or dentists may inject these substances in approved clinical settings.