Jeonnam Regional Police Agency on Monday arrested a group of suspects for allegedly performing illegal cosmetic procedures 353 times at a hair salon in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province.

Police found the 45-year-old owner of the hair salon, surnamed Lee, and her business partners guilty of violating the Special Measures Act on Health Crimes Control. 

The head of a medical device maker and a pharmaceutical firm employee were also arrested on charges of illegal distribution of medicine. Police also added an illegal cosmetic practitioner to their list of suspects. 

Lee reportedly made profits from the 353 illegal cosmetic procedures -- such as facial lifting using Botox, double-eyelid surgery, nose fillers and eyebrow tattooing -- from December 2015 to April 2017 in the hair salon that she owned.

She had a considerable client list made up of those in the neighborhood, and offered operations at a cheaper price than plastic surgery centers. She charged her clients $200 to $250 for double-eyelid surgeries and $100 for filler procedures. 

Other suspects are facing charges of running an illegal drug trafficking ring; importing and exporting pharmaceuticals 25 times without customs clearance; blending illegal drugs to produce “diet-inducing injections” and illegally distributing those drugs to the domestic market.

Gwangju Metropolitan Police have confiscated more than 8,400 types of professional pharmaceutical products valued at a total of 40 million won ($35,000) from the office of one of the suspects.

(cec82@heraldcorp.com)