Scientists charged with smuggling deactivated mpox into US on plane
two scientists US government laboratory The suspects are accused of smuggling vials of a disabled version of a deadly virus into the country from Africa on a “packaged” Delta Air Lines flight, federal prosecutors said.
Vincent Munster, 53, and Claude Kwe, 38, both researchers at the National Institutes of Health at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana, are accused of lying to law enforcement and conspiring to smuggle mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, into the United States. criminal complaint It was unsealed in U.S. District Court on June 2.
Federal officials said researchers encountered the virus when they were stopped in January Detroit Metro Airport After getting off Delta Flight 229 from the Republic of Congo, where the mpox outbreak occurred. Mpox is an infectious virus that causes a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, and other symptoms. World Health Organization.
Jerome F. Gorgon Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. “These NIH experts broke our laws by smuggling viral pathogens from an outbreak in the Republic of Congo onto a commercial airliner full of virus. Let that be understood,” he said in a news release.
A clinician prepares a syringe containing mpox vaccine during the launch of the vaccination campaign at Goma General Hospital on October 5, 2024
What are Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe doing?
Munster, a Dutch national, is the chief of virus ecology at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana, according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI on March 17. Kwe, a Cameroonian national, is a research assistant in Munster’s department.
They work in the Biosafety Level 4 laboratory that prosecutors say he used “The highest level of biosecurity measures for scientific research of known and potential human pathogens.” Prosecutors said their mission was to study emerging viral pathogens. The lab is one of about 15 facilities in the United States, according to charging documents filed March 17.
Laboratory types include: highest containment facilities worldwideDesigned to conduct deadly research, NIH says airborne pathogens with There is no known cure.
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Vials containing deactivated mpox and chickenpox virus found in trunk
On January 25, two researchers arrived at Detroit airport on a Delta flight from Paris. Their travels had begun in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, where there was a known mpox outbreak at the time.
Upon arrival, Munster and Kwe were examined and interviewed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials, who found the pair traveling with a large black plastic box. Prosecutors said both scientists mistold CBP officers that the black case involved diagnostic and testing equipment.
A later investigation by CBP and FBI agents allegedly found 113 vials in Styrofoam coolers in the scientists’ luggage. To date, the FBI has tested 20 of those vials, 17 of which contained deactivated mpox virus, one contained chickenpox virus and two contained only human DNA, officials said.
A Nigerian health official administers mpox vaccine to a man at the Mando Primary Health Center following a resurgence of mpox cases in Igabi, Kaduna, Nigeria, August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Nuhu Gwamna REFIL – NAME IS CORRECTED FROM “MONKEYPOX” TO “MPOX”.
Scientists accused of Mpox trafficking face prison time
Munster and Kwe are scheduled to appear voluntarily in federal court in Missoula, Montana, on June 3, but will eventually travel to Michigan and face prosecution in Detroit, the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
Both are charged with conspiracy to traffic mpox and lying to federal law enforcement.
Prosecutors said they each face up to five years in prison if convicted of the charges.
USA TODAY could not immediately reach Munster and Kwe for comment.
Jean Kakuru Biyambo, 48, a father of six from the Muja internally displaced persons camp, gestures outside his room at Goma general hospital, where he is being treated for Mpox, an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus that causes painful rashes, enlarged lymph nodes and fever; Following Mpox cases in the Nyiragongo district in Goma, North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, July 16, 2024. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi
What is monkeypox?
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a virus that usually begins with flu-like symptoms such as fever, swollen glands, muscle aches, headaches and backaches. It is most commonly associated with a painful rash and low energy. According to WHO.
Infectious diseases specialist at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian, Dr. The lesions start on the hands and face, and some may be in the mouth or anus so they can be difficult to see, Marshall Glesby previously told USA TODAY.
The lesions can cause severe pain and, depending on their location, may cause pain when using the bathroom or eating.
Contributors: Karen Weintraub with USA TODAY and Tresa Baldas via Detroit Free Press
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior correspondent for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article first appeared on USA TODAY: NIH scientists accused of smuggling deactivated mpox into US
