A CRIMINAL organisation has been dismantled after trafficking Botox and running clandestine cosmetic clinics in Alicante, Valencia and Tarragona.

Guardia Civil officers seized over 1,200 vials of botulinum toxin (Botox) and 382 syringes of hyaluronic acid.

Operation Zlata took place on April 8 and 9 in Reus, Burjassot and Pilar de la Horadada.

They arrested one person and three others are under investigation for crimes against public health and professional misconduct.

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#OperacionesGC | Desmanteladas tres clínicas estéticas clandestinas en las provincias de Tarragona, Valencia y Alicante y un centro de almacenamiento clandestino de medicamentos en Alicante, así como una red que traficaba con bótox y ácido hialurónico, que distribuían fármacos… pic.twitter.com/24YKeJGD7Y— Guardia Civil (@guardiacivil) April 15, 2026

Police confiscated over 1,000 needles and syringes from the properties, together with computer equipment and documents intended for the packaging and distribution of the material.

The network used social media to lure clients to private residences for invasive aesthetic treatments.

They performed these procedures without professional qualifications or health authorisation.

Investigators discovered the group was also distributing illegal medication to Lithuania and the UK.

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Police confiscated over 1,000 needles and syringes.

The main leaders of the gang operated from Alicante, where they illegally acquired and stored the drugs in a private house in Pilar de la Horadada.

Police worked together with Spain’s medicines regulator, la Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios (AEMPS), to dismantle the gang.

Authorities warn that these illegal treatments put clients at serious risk.

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One of the clinics discovered by Guardi Civil.

Unregulated Botox and dermal fillers can cause infections, severe reactions and long-term damage.

Officials say the illegal cosmetic market continues to grow and that criminal groups now treat the industry as a highly profitable international business.
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EXTRA Alicante Policia Local officers are being deployed on Thursday and into the weekend as the city celebrates its 537th Santa Faz pilgrimage.

The event traditionally takes place on the Thursday in the week after Easter and attracts around 350,000 pilgrims.

It’s the second biggest walk of its kind in Spain, after the famous Santiago de Compostela route in the north-west.

SANTA FAZ MONASTERY

The weather forecast is excellent with no rain predicted.

Participants start at Alicante’s San Nicolas cathedral from 8am onwards to walk the 7.5 kilometre route to the Santa Faz monastery.

The monastery houses a famous relic known as the Veil of Veronica.

It is a piece of cloth that Veronica used to wipe the face of Jesus Christ as he travelled with a cross to his crucifixion at Mount Calvary.

The Veil can only be seen in conjunction with the annual pilgrimage and is locked up for the rest of the year.

VEIL OF VERONICA

As many people do the walk instead on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, there is a party atmosphere for four days around Alicante with an array of stalls and entertainment laid on.

Besides controlling traffic and road closures on the pilgrimage route, the police using drones and beach quad bikes will be keeping an eye out for illegal outdoor alcohol parties involving young people known as botellons.

Special cleaning operations have been taking place across the route for the last week with 51 workers and 34 vehicles involved.

An additional 140 rubbish containers have been provided for pilgrims to use.
Click here to read more Alicante News from The Olive Press.