They offered meetings in the North of France, but also in the Paris region, according to information from France Inter.
The two women arrested last week and suspected of offering illegal injections of Botox and fillers, will be tried on August 17 in Valenciennes, reveals France Inter on Wednesday July 19. 26 people filed a complaint.
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Last May, the cybergendarmes of Lille (Nord) spotted on social networks that two women were offering injections of Botox or hyaluronic acid on their Instagram and Snapchat accounts to fill in wrinkles or inflate the lips in the north of France as well than in the Paris region. These types of injections can only be legally performed by a doctor. Those who offer such acts on social networks can indeed be prosecuted for the illegal practice of medicine. The gendarmerie then launched a call for witnesses in May to find possible victims.
Sessions between 200 and 400 euros
These two sisters in their thirties are arrested, before being released at first. They were arrested again last week. One of them was placed in pre-trial detention, after analysis of products contained in syringes and filing of complaints for serious medical complications.
According to information from France Inter, the two women rented beauty salons, sometimes on Sundays, for sessions of 200 to 400 euros. They could receive about twenty clients each time. During these sessions, one of the sisters put on a white coat on which was written on the back “Doctor Lougayne”. In total, the amount of profits is estimated at at least 120,000 euros.
Expired vials, syringes full of bacteria
During the searches, the investigators discovered vials from Russia and Korea, some of which were expired. They also find a hundred syringes, which they decide with the public prosecutor of Valenciennes to have analyzed. “The analysis of a syringe revealed to us that it contained a level of bacteria fifty times higher than the authorized legal threshold”explains to France Inter Vincent Audon, deputy commander of the research section of Lille.
“Cosmetic surgeons have sometimes had to operate to compensate for the damage caused by illegal injections”.
Deputy Commander Vincent Audonat France Inter
Investigators currently identify 600 clients throughout France. 26 patients declared themselves victims of serious medical complications. Deputy Commander Vincent Audon thus evokes “infections, inflammations, sometimes even necroses”. “Several had to go to the hospital, several had to undergo surgery”, he laments. He thus ensures that “cosmetic surgeons have sometimes had to operate to compensate for the damage caused by illegal injections”.
The investigators also found in the couriers of the two suspects explicit threats sent to their clients not to file a complaint, according to information from France Inter.