Two NIH researchers charged with smuggling deactivated mpox virus into U.S.

• Two NIH researchers allegedly smuggled 113 vials of deactivated mpox and other biological materials on a commercial flight from the Republic of Congo to Detroit.
• The scientists initially lied to customs, claiming the vials were diagnostic equipment, before FBI testing confirmed the presence of dangerous pathogens.
• Prosecutors say the researchers broke federal law despite their high-level credentials at a Biosafety Level 4 facility in Montana.
• The case raises renewed concerns about government oversight and public trust in federal health agencies.
• This incident follows past scrutiny linking one researcher to coronavirus studies involving the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

On a packed Delta Air Lines flight that connected through Paris from the Republic of Congo, two National Institutes of Health researchers allegedly carried more than just luggage. Federal prosecutors say Vincent Munster, 53, and Claude Kwe Yinda, 38, smuggled 113 vials of biological materials — including deactivated mpox virus — into the United States. The criminal complaint unsealed June 2 in Detroit federal court charges both men with conspiracy to smuggle goods and making false statements to federal investigators. If convicted, each faces up to five years in prison.

The case began Jan. 25 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Customs and Border Protection officers spotted the men traveling with a large black plastic case. When asked what it contained, both researchers allegedly said the case held diagnostic and testing equipment. But investigators later discovered 113 vials packed in Styrofoam coolers. FBI testing of 20 vials so far found 17 containing deactivated mpox virus, one with chickenpox virus and two containing only human DNA. The pair had just arrived from Brazzaville, where an mpox outbreak was ongoing.

Both scientists work at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, which is one of roughly 15 Biosafety Level 4 facilities in the country, reserved for research into the most dangerous pathogens known to science. Munster, a Dutch citizen, serves as chief of the Virus Ecology Section. Kwe, a Cameroonian national, works as a research fellow in the same department. Their research focuses on emerging viral pathogens and the mechanisms by which they jump from animals to humans.

“Let that sink in”

U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. did not mince words when announcing the charges. “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,” he said in a news release. FBI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan added that no one sits above the law. “No researchers should believe their positions, credentials, or professional status place them above the law,” Runyan stated.

Prosecutors did not accuse the researchers of intentionally releasing pathogens or harming the public. But Marcus L. Sykes, special agent in charge for the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, called the alleged conduct “a breach of the public’s trust.” He warned that unauthorized transport of biological materials “could have placed the public at risk.”

According to the FBI affidavit, Munster “adamantly denied” carrying biological samples and claimed his laptop contained the necessary documentation. “I do this all the time,” he told investigators, according to the complaint. Authorities say he never produced the documents.

Past questions and present concerns

This is not the first time Munster’s research ties have drawn scrutiny. A 2024 letter from Sen. Rand Paul, then ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, cited Munster as a participant in coronavirus research involving EcoHealth Alliance, the University of North Carolina and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The letter did not allege wrongdoing but said documents “indicate” Munster’s involvement in studies under congressional review.

Rutgers molecular biologist Richard Ebright said the new charges raise deeper questions. “If the letter is correct, Munster’s record likely includes the unlawful importation and false claims incidents for which he was arrested, but also a share in culpability for causing COVID,” Ebright told The Defender. The NIH said in a statement it is “cooperating fully with law enforcement.”

Munster and Kwe are scheduled to appear voluntarily in federal court in Missoula, Montana, and will eventually face prosecution in Detroit. The charges also come as Rocky Mountain Laboratories faces separate scrutiny over a reported staff exposure to Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in late 2025 in an incident federal officials said posed no public risk, although some legal experts have described such occurrences as far more routine than the public might expect.

For a public already skeptical of federal health agencies, this case only deepens distrust. When top pathogen researchers allegedly lie about what they carry across borders, the question becomes not just what they smuggled, but what else remains hidden.

Sources for this article include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

Fox2Detroit.com

USAToday.com