Hong Kong customs has arrested two people and seized nearly 250 vials of suspected botulinum toxin for wrinkle treatments, including 20 in a parcel inspected at a border checkpoint.
The Customs and Excise Department said on Friday that officers at the Shenzhen Bay control point conducted an X-ray inspection of a parcel declared as carrying body lotion last week and found 20 botulinum toxin injection vials suspected to contain Part 1 poisons, which are regulated under the law.
Customs said the express parcel, inspected on July 16, originated from a commercial address in South Korea for delivery to Hong Kong.
The following day, at the delivery address in Hung Hom, customs officers arrested an unemployed man, 20, who signed for the parcel, and a female shop assistant, 45, who was listed as the recipient.
A subsequent search of the premises uncovered 229 cosmetic injection products with various ingredients, some of which were also suspected to contain Part 1 poisons.
The total estimated market value of the 249 bottles was HK$76,000.
