Head of breast implant firm arrested in France

The former head of a French company at the centre of a breast implant scandal affecting tens of thousands of women worldwide, was arrested along with his former deputy yesterday.

Jean-Claude Mas, who founded and ran the now-defunct implant maker Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), was detained as part of a judicial investigation in the southeastern city of Marseille into manslaughter and involuntary injuries, an official said.

A regional official said the company’s former number two executive, Claude Couty, was also detained.