Two top US government scientists have been charged with smuggling vials of mpox into the country and then allegedly lying about it when questioned by officials.
According to a criminal complaint from the US Attorney's Office, Vincent Munster, 53, and Claude Kwe, 38, researchers at the National Institute of Health's Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, arrived at McNamara Airport in Detroit on January 25 from the Republic of Congo, where an mpox outbreak was taking place.
Border agents stopped them after noting they were carrying a large black plastic case. When asked, Munster is alleged to have 'adamantly denied' returning to the US with biological materials or samples, and to have said that the case contained diagnostic and testing equipment.
But when officials inspected the case, according to the complaint, they found 113 vials tightly packed inside foam coolers. Tests showed that some of the vials contained deactivated mpox virus, chickenpox virus and human DNA.
Officials said the scientists failed to declare these or obtain the necessary permissions before seeking to enter the US. They now face up to five years in prison if convicted.
Marcus Sykes, an official at the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services, told AP in a statement: '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.'
A spokesperson for the National Institutes of Health, which oversees the lab, told AP in a statement: 'This matter is currently under investigation, and NIH is cooperating fully with law enforcement and appropriate authorities. Because this is an ongoing investigation and personnel matter, we are limited in what additional information we can provide at this time.'
The pair were stopped at Detroit's McNamara Airport. They had flown there via Paris after spending nine days in the Republic of Congo. At the time, the country was recording a major mpox outbreak that led to more than 2,000 deaths. It was declared over in April.
The outbreak was caused by clade I mpox, a more deadly strain that can kill up to one in 10 patients without treatment. The major US outbreak of mpox in 2022 was caused by the clade II variant, which leads to a less severe illness.
It was not clear from the criminal complaint what strain of mpox the pair were allegedly transporting or where the samples were taken from. The complaint, revealed Tuesday after it was filed in the court for the Eastern District of Michigan, does not say why the scientists were transporting the vials, but both Munster and Kwe are reported to regularly work with the virus.
Online, Munster's major areas of research are listed as investigating what enables viruses in animals to jump to humans. Kwe is described online as working to investigate viral gastrointestinal infections in humans and the threats they may pose to human health.
According to the complaint, Munster told investigators at the airport that any necessary documents were on his laptop, adding, 'but you don't need them, I do this all the time'.
Analysis has been carried out on 20 of the 113 vials to date. Of these, 17 contained deactivated mpox virus, while one contained chickenpox virus and two contained human DNA, according to the criminal complaint. It was not clear whether the chickenpox virus was activated or deactivated.
Deactivated mpox is not considered to be a major threat to the public because the virus has been treated in a way as to ensure it cannot make copies of itself.
The Daily Mail has contacted Munster and Kwe for comment.
US Attorney Jerome Gorgon, who is acting for the Federal government, said in a press release from the US Attorney's Office: 'These NIH experts apparently broke our laws by smuggling viral pathogens on a packed commercial airplane from an outbreak in the Republic of Congo. Let that sink in.'
Jennifer Runyan, a special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said: 'No researcher should believe their positions, credentials, or professional status place them above the law. The allegations in this case are serious. They involve the dangerous and unlawful smuggling of deactivated Mpox virus into the United States and alleged efforts to mislead our federal agents. I am grateful for the outstanding and diligent work of the FBI Detroit JTTF, FBI Billings’ Missoula Resident Agency, the US Customs and Border Protection team at Detroit Metro Airport, and the US Department of Health and Human Services – OIG, for keeping our communities safe.'
The defendants are expected to appear in federal court in Missoula, Montana, on Wednesday. A plea has not yet been entered.
