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A B.C. woman was caught with evidence linking her to illegal botox parties and now the B.C.'s College of Physicians and Surgeons says it’s going to court to ensure the cosmetic injectables in her possession are disposed of safely.

In a statement from the college dated March 4, it said B.C.’s Supreme Court granted it an order on Feb. 18 to enter and search a property where Maria Ezzati was suspected of storing cosmetic medical injectables, like filler and Botulinum toxin. Botulinum toxin is listed in Schedule I of the Drug Schedules Regulation and therefore cannot be sold or administered without a prescription or administered by anyone who is not a medical professional.

“The search and seizure order was granted after undercover private investigators obtained evidence that earlier this month Ms. Ezzati was administering cosmetic medical injectables to three different individuals at a ‘Botox and filler party’ at a private residence in Vancouver, and being paid in cash for the service,” the March 4 college release reads.

Ezzati was already prohibited through a court order from providing any service that may only be provided by a registrant of the college.

Now the college is seeking a court order to allow it to safely and properly dispose of the drugs, products and instruments that it found during the search, and which it says relate to the practice of medicine.

The college will also will be suing Ezzati for contempt of court for her recent conduct in apparent violation of the injunction.

“Receiving an injection of a prescription drug from an unlicensed practitioner is risky and has the potential for complications, including reaction to agents, infections, or greater harm due to human error,” Dr. Heidi Oetter, registrar and CEO of the College said in the press release. “There is no assurance that the practitioner is competent or qualified to provide treatment, or that the instruments and products being used were provided by a licensed manufacturer.”

The college of physicians has long been trying to get Ezzati, who has surgical and medical degrees from Ireland, to comply with Canadian standards when it comes to the administration of botox and fillers, according to a BC Supreme Court decision posted March 9.

In that decision, Madam Justice J. Miriam Gropper wrote that on July 6, 2017, after being caught administering botox, Ezzati was banned from using reserved titles — such as doctor — to describe her work or in any manner that expresses that she is a registrant of or associated with the college.

At the time, the College was also granted permission to enter Ezzati’s Vancouver office and search for and seize items associated with the practice of medicine, which they did.

Then, on Sept. 6, 2017, the College became aware of certain information and began to investigate whether  Ezzati was continuing to practice medicine and use reserved titles in contempt of the first order at a Richmond office.

The college then applied for and was granted a second order, which allowed for the exception of a search and seizure of that office.

The college made a contempt application, heard on March 2, 2018 and July 20, 2018, and alleged that Ezzati had engaged in deliberate conduct violating the first and second orders by performing 44 botulinum toxin or dermal filler procedures on 38 different individuals between July 16, 2017, and Oct. 5, 2017, for which she billed in excess of $22,000.

While the college was able to show that she breached court orders, in terms of using the title of doctor, it was unable to prove the allegation she’d actually injected clients with botulinum toxin and dermal fillers.

The court ordered that Ezzati pay a fine of $5,000 to the Attorney General of British Columbia, as punishment for her contempt of court orders. The College was also awarded 50 per cent of its special costs allowed by the Registrar.

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