Home / Crime and Justice / Scientists Arrested for Smuggling Deadly Virus on Plane
Scientists Arrested for Smuggling Deadly Virus on Plane
3 Jun
Summary
- Two NIH scientists charged with smuggling mpox virus into US.
- Mpox vials found in luggage on a Delta flight from Congo.
- Charges include smuggling and lying to federal law enforcement.
Two scientists employed by a U.S. government lab have been charged with smuggling deactivated mpox virus vials into the country. Vincent Munster, 53, and Claude Kwe, 38, researchers at the National Institutes of Health's Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana, face charges of conspiracy and lying to law enforcement.
Federal officials apprehended the researchers in January at Detroit Metro Airport after they disembarked Delta Flight 229, which had originated in the Republic of Congo, an area experiencing an mpox outbreak. Authorities reported that the scientists falsely claimed their luggage contained diagnostic equipment when questioned by customs officers.
An investigation revealed 113 vials in coolers within their luggage. Subsequent testing by the FBI confirmed that 17 of these vials contained deactivated mpox virus, one contained chickenpox virus, and two contained human DNA. Both Munster and Kwe are scheduled to appear in federal court, potentially facing up to five years imprisonment if convicted.
