Two NIH Scientists in Montana Charged with ‘Smuggling’ Virus
Federal agents say the scientists transported 113 vials without required declarations and misidentified the materials as diagnostics.
- On January 25, federal agents detained Vincent Munster, chief of the Virus Ecology unit at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, and research fellow Claude Kwe at Detroit Metropolitan Airport for allegedly smuggling Mpox samples into the United States.
- Returning from a nine-day study in the Republic of Congo, the pair faced secondary inspection after agents observed 'nervous behavior' and an 'atypical' case, though they falsely claimed the contents were only 'diagnostics'.
- Agents confiscated 113 vials stored in a styrofoam cooler, and FBI testing of 20 samples confirmed 17 contained deactivated monkeypox DNA; Munster and Kwe face maximum sentences of five years in prison.
- The National Institute of Health stated it is cooperating with law enforcement and has secured relevant laboratory spaces while conducting an audit to verify all materials at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory are appropriately documented.
- Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy called for a federal investigation into RML, citing security concerns regarding 'foreign-educated scientists' and questioning NIH's hiring practices for those handling dangerous pathogens following a whistleblower complaint.
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13 Articles
Dutch Scientist charged with conspiring to smuggle mpox virus into US
A Dutch virus researcher who has been honored for helping to advance the development of the COVID vaccine now finds himself under the microscope of U.S. federal investigators. The post Dutch Scientist charged with conspiring to smuggle mpox virus into US appeared first on West Hawaii Today.
Two researchers smuggle over 100 vials of Mpox viruses from the Congo into the US. Now they are threatened with a succulent punishment.
Daily Montanan
Two NIH scientists in Montana charged with ‘smuggling’ virus
View of NIH's Rocky Mountain Labs (RML) campus in Hamilton, MT, looking west at Downing Mountain. (NIH/Bryan Kercher via Flickr)Two scientists with a federal infectious disease research institute in Hamilton are accused of smuggling samples of monkeypox, or “Mpox,” into the United States and lying to law enforcement. Vincent Munster, chief of the Virus Ecology unit in the Laboratory of Virology at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, and …
Two NIH scientists in Montana charged with ‘smuggling’ virus - Stateline Publications
View of NIH's Rocky Mountain Labs (RML) campus in Hamilton, MT, looking west at Downing Mountain. (NIH/Bryan Kercher via Flickr)Two scientists with a federal infectious disease research institute in Hamilton are accused of smuggling samples of monkeypox, or “Mpox,” into the United States and lying to law enforcement. Vincent Munster, chief of the Virus Ecology unit in the Laboratory of Virology at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, and …
Two NIH scientists in Montana charged with ‘smuggling’ virus - Hillsboro Sentry Enterprise
View of NIH's Rocky Mountain Labs (RML) campus in Hamilton, MT, looking west at Downing Mountain. (NIH/Bryan Kercher via Flickr)Two scientists with a federal infectious disease research institute in Hamilton are accused of smuggling samples of monkeypox, or “Mpox,” into the United States and lying to law enforcement. Vincent Munster, chief of the Virus Ecology unit in the Laboratory of Virology at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, and …
Two NIH scientists in Montana charged with ‘smuggling’ virus - The Mexico Ledger
View of NIH's Rocky Mountain Labs (RML) campus in Hamilton, MT, looking west at Downing Mountain. (NIH/Bryan Kercher via Flickr)Two scientists with a federal infectious disease research institute in Hamilton are accused of smuggling samples of monkeypox, or “Mpox,” into the United States and lying to law enforcement. Vincent Munster, chief of the Virus Ecology unit in the Laboratory of Virology at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, and …
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