A visiting doctor has been arrested at the airport with large quantities of medicines in his luggage, including injectable cosmetic products and anaesthetic solutions of unknown origin. A private hospital in Cyprus had been advertising in recent weeks that he would come to the island to give Botox treatments.
The Pharmaceutical Services had spotted the online posts announcing his arrival and alerted the police and the Customs Department, Phileleftheros understands. When the doctor arrived from Greece, customs officers searched his luggage and found the products.
The packaging carried no labelling or instructions for use in Greek or English, raising further questions about whether the products comply with Cypriot pharmaceutical law. The authorities are investigating whether bringing them into Cyprus was legal, where they came from and what they were intended for.
Professional use
The fact that the treatments were advertised in advance is significant, a source with knowledge of the case told Phileleftheros, as it links the products to planned professional work rather than personal medical use. Being a doctor does not automatically entitle someone to import medicines for professional use without following the procedures set out in law, the source added.
The anaesthetic solutions are a separate strand of the investigation. They are meant to be given to people, which makes it particularly important to establish their origin, composition, storage conditions and how they were distributed.
September warning
The case adds to concerns the Pharmaceutical Services raised publicly in September about unapproved medicines and injectable treatments. In a statement on 7 September 2026, they warned of the serious risks that buying and using unlicensed or illegally traded medicines may carry, singling out products promoted online and on social media and in gyms, beauty salons, hairdressers and other unauthorised premises. The warning covered, among other things, injectable products advertised for anti-ageing, improving appearance, weight loss and wellbeing.
Injectable and intravenous products need particular care, the Pharmaceutical Services said, as serious health risks may arise when manufacturing, storage and distribution standards are not met. The risks they listed included contamination, unknown or wrong active ingredients, incorrect strength and dosage, infections, toxicity and serious side effects. Medicines must come from legal and controlled sources, and the circulation and supply of unlicensed or unapproved medicines in Cyprus breaks the law, the statement said.
