Customs and Border Protection agents questioned the individuals who were transporting a large black case.
The Eastern District of Michigan U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that two foreign nationals who work as researchers at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories were charged with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States.
The two men, who worked at a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory, provided false statements to Customs and Border Protection officers when they arrived at the airport in Detroit, Michigan, from the Republic of Congo, carrying a large black case that contained more than 100 vials of virus samples in coolers. Though the men told authorities the case contained only equipment and diagnostics, seventeen out of 20 vials that were tested from the case by the FBI held the monkeypox virus.
U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. said, “These NIH experts apparently broke our laws by smuggling viral pathogens on a packed commercial airplane from an outbreak in the Republic of Congo.“
“Any deliberate effort to conceal and smuggle biological materials into the United States without proper authorization is a breach of the public’s trust and could have placed the public at risk,” stated Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agent Marcus Sykes.
FBI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan said, “No researchers should believe their positions, credentials, or professional status place them above the law.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For FBI officers as they conduct investigations into criminal activities.
- For DOJ officials as they prosecute violations of federal laws.
- For HHS agents as they seek to protect public health from viral outbreaks.
Sources: MSN, Daily Wire, Newsweek, Daily Caller
