Two NIH Scientists Charged With Smuggling Mpox Into US
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- Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe were charged on June 2 with conspiracy to smuggle mpox and giving false statements after allegedly carrying 113 sealed vials through Detroit Metro Airport on January 25 without declaring them to customs.
- Customs and Border Protection found the vials packed in styrofoam coolers inside a large black plastic case; lab analysis of 20 of the 113 vials confirmed 17 contained inactivated monkeypox virus, one contained chickenpox virus, and two contained human DNA.
- Both scientists pleaded not guilty on June 3 in Missoula, Montana, were released on bail after surrendering their passports, and each face a maximum of five years in prison if convicted.
- The House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter dated June 16 to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya requesting details on the trip's authorization, prior compliance concerns involving the researchers, and any false statements made to federal agencies.
- Senator Tim Sheehy called on May 26 for an independent investigation into Rocky Mountain Laboratories, citing two confirmed employee exposures to Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus — one involving a monkey bite and one a protective clothing failure — and claims that Munster retained access to the high-containment lab after being detained.
- The NIH says it learned of the airport incident in January, immediately secured lab facilities and materials, took "appropriate personnel actions," and is cooperating fully with law enforcement.
Why it matters: Congress is now probing whether NIH authorized the Congo trip and whether prior safety lapses at Rocky Mountain Laboratories — including two confirmed Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever exposures at the same BSL-4 facility — went unaddressed, putting the agency's oversight of its highest-containment research and personnel accountability directly under the microscope.
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