NIH Researchers Charged Over Mpox Smuggling Plot
Federal prosecutors say the researchers carried 113 vials, including 17 with deactivated mpox, and falsely described the case to customs officers.
- Federal prosecutors charged two National Institutes of Health researchers on Tuesday with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States. Vincent Munster, chief of the Virus Ecology Section at Rocky Mountain Laboratory, and Claude Kwe, a research fellow, face the charges.
- Returning from the Republic of Congo on January 25, 2026, Munster and Kwe arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport with a large case. When questioned by Customs and Border Protection officers, they claimed it contained diagnostic equipment.
- A subsequent investigation uncovered 113 vials stored in Styrofoam coolers. FBI testing of 20 samples revealed 17 contained deactivated monkeypox, one contained chickenpox, and two contained human DNA.
- Both defendants face up to five years in prison on charges of smuggling and making false statements. Marcus Sykes of the Department of Health and Human Services called the incident a "breach of the public's trust."
- Mpox remains a significant public health concern despite a fatality rate typically below 1 percent. An outbreak in Congo was linked to more than 2,000 deaths, underscoring the virus's potential severity.
141 Articles
141 Articles
Two scientists have been accused of bringing the monkey’s smallpox virus to the United States. Vincent Munster, head of the Rocky Mountain Laboratories’ virus ecology section of the U.S. government, and his collaborator Claude Kwe. Scientists Accused for Bringing Monkeypox Virus to the U.S. A Detroit federal court accused scientists Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe of conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox virus into the U.S. from Africa. Scientists were…
National Institutes of Health researchers charged with smuggling virus into United States on commercial flight
The National Institutes of Health laboratory in Montana is embroiled in controversy as two of its researchers have been charged by federal law enforcement with conspiracy to smuggle deactivated monkeypox virus into the United States. A Department of Justice press release names Dutch national Vincent Munster (53) and Cameroonian national Claude Kwe (38) as violating the law after they smuggled “monkeypox into the United States” and gave “false st…
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