Two researchers have been arrested and accused of a plot to smuggle after being apprehended at a major airport with vials containing the mpox virus and human DNA. Vincent Munster, 53, and Claude Kwe, 38, were seized at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan, USA, earlier this year following an alleged smuggling incident. Authorities stated that the duo, hailing from the Netherlands and Cameroon, were intercepted by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) while transporting a large black plastic case.
According to prosecutors, when questioned about the contents of the case, Munster and Kwe claimed it held diagnostics and testing equipment. However, they are now facing charges of smuggling viral pathogens into the US from an outbreak in the Republic of Congo. The US Attorney’s Office of Michigan announced that the researchers, both affiliated with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana, arrived in Detroit from Brazzaville during an Mpox outbreak.
The accused scientists, focusing on emerging viral pathogens and researching the species barrier crossing, were found carrying 113 vials in Styrofoam coolers. Subsequent testing revealed 17 vials containing deactivated mpox virus, along with vials containing chickenpox virus and human DNA. Detroit attorney general Jerome Gorgon Jr alleged that the experts smuggled the pathogens on a commercial flight from Congo.
Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, denounced the alleged smuggling as dangerous and unlawful, stating that the researchers attempted to deceive federal agents. The case has serious implications, highlighting the unlawful entry of deactivated Mpox virus into the US and the alleged deception of federal authorities.
