French police on Thursday arrested Jean-Claude Mas, the founder of the PIP breast implant company that sparked a global health scare by using substandard silicone, as part of a manslaughter probe. More than 400,000 women around the world are believed to have received implants made by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), which was shut down in 2010 after it was revealed to have been using industrial-grade silicone gel that caused abnormally high rupture rates.
"Jean-Claude Mas was arrested at 7:00 am and taken into custody" on the orders of an investigating judge, Marseille prosecutor Jacques Dallest told AFP. He said the arrest was made in connection with a manslaughter investigation opened by prosecutors in the southern port city of Marseille in December and that Mas could be held in custody for up to 48 hours.
Prosecutors said police had also arrested Claude Couty, another former executive at the now-defunct PIP, in southern France. Fears over PIP's implants spread globally late last year after French health authorities advised 30,000 women to have their implants removed because of the increased risk of rupture.
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