2 NIH Researchers, Both Foreigners Who Worked on Covid Vaccines, Get Caught Smuggling Monkeypox into US (Source: DOJ)

Shocking case of alleged scientific misconduct

Two researchers at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), both foreigners, have been charged with conspiring to smuggle monkeypox virus into the U.S. and then lying about it when caught.

Both men reportedly have conducted Covid vaccine research. They also have ties to controversial University of North Carolina (UNC) researcher Ralph Baric. Baric is best known for conducting infamous “gain of function” research on bat coronavirus in partnership with China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, the institution widely blamed in the Covid-19 outbreak. He recently retired from UNC.

The suspects are Vincent Munster, 53, a Dutch citizen and chief of the Virus Ecology Section in the Laboratory of Virology at RML; and Claude Kwe, 38, a Cameroonian citizen and research fellow in Munster’s group. They were questioned by federal agents after they arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on January 25 from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, which had an active monkeypox (mpox) outbreak at the time.

According to the criminal complaint, the pair falsely told Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers that a large black plastic case in their luggage contained only “diagnostics and testing equipment.” An inspection revealed 113 vials packed in Styrofoam coolers.

Testing of 20 of the 113 vials so far allegedly have found that 17 contained deactivated monkeypox virus, one contained chickenpox virus, and two contained human DNA.

Since chickenpox virus is commonly available in the U.S., there’s no indication as to why the pair would be smuggling in a vial containing some.

“These NIH experts apparently broke our laws by smuggling viral pathogens on a packed commercial airplane from an outbreak in the Republic of Congo,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. in a statement. “Let that sink in.”

Read on for details.

Above: Kwe (left) and Munster (right) Source: NIH

Munster and Kwe worked at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton, Montana, operated by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under NIH. The facility is a premier high-containment research facility established in the early 20th century to combat Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Now, it’s one of the few U.S. sites with Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratories — the highest level of containment for working with the most dangerous known pathogens, such as Ebola, and potential pandemic threats.

Munster’s work focused on the drivers of zoonotic spillover and has included studies on mpox transmission in animal models. Kwe, his research fellow, has co-authored papers with him on mpox stability and ecology. Both men were placed on administrative leave following their arrests, and their contact information was removed from Health and Human Services (HHS) directories.

The idea that these two experienced researchers would allegedly violate protocols and laws, and lie about it all when caught, is nothing short of alarming from a public health standpoint. Also alarming is the kind of access they had to research on viral pathogens at Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML). The question is: Why did they do what they did? There’s no hint in the public record to date.

Documented collaboration with Ralph Baric

Munster’s team at NIH’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) worked with Baric at UNC-Chapel Hill on a 2018 study published in the journal Viruses. They infected Egyptian fruit bats with W1V1-CoV, a SARS-like bat coronavirus originally isolated from Chinese horseshoe bats and associated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Munster and Baric have co-authored other coronavirus papers including ones on MERS and SARS-CoV-2 models. Baric has provided cell lines or viruses to RML researchers, according to the record.

The new arrests invite parallels to broader concerns about U.S.-funded research on dangerous pathogens, particularly “gain-of-function” (GoF) experiments. GoF research involves modifying viruses that are harmless to humans to make them dangerous to people.

Numerous researchers warned in advance about risks of the Covid GoF research that Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and other federal agencies were funding in partnership with communist China, Baric, and the controversial nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, among others. The stated purpose of the research was to change harmless bat coronavirus into a dangerous version that would infect people to invent a vaccine for it.

In other words: researchers were genetically modifying bat coronavirus in a lab to create a new form that was dangerous to people— in order to develop a vaccine for something that only existed…because they created it!

Critics point to the theory that nefarious actors could create and/or release dangerous pathogens in order to create a demand for a treatment or cure they would profit from. No such official charge has been made to date.

Many scientists and policymakers argued that the GoF research and partnership with China were ill-advised due to biosafety lapses at Wuhan, the stated potential for accidental release, and the national security risk of partnering with the communist Chinese.

Similar debates have surrounded monkey pox research. In 2024, congressional investigators revealed that NIAID, Fauci’s former Institute, had approved plans to create hybrid or “chimeric” mpox viruses.

That’s what had been done with bat coronavirus using taxpayer money under Fauci’s supervision in 2015. UNC’s Baric and the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s “batwoman” Shi created a chimeric coronavirus by inserting the spike protein from a bat coronavirus into the backbone of a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV to enable the virus to infect and cause disease in human cells. It was a classic “gain-of-function” experiment.

Rocky Mountain Laboratories researchers, including Munster’s group, have conducted mpox studies involving animal models to assess transmission and shedding issues.

The smuggled vials tested so far are said to have contained deactivated or non-infectious virus. However, the alleged attempt to bring them into the U.S. without following the law and proper procedures echoes worries about inadequate oversight in high-risk virology.

Federal rules restrict the import, transport, and possession of select agents like monkeypox virus. They require permits, declarations, and inactivation protocols.

Echoes of other scientist scandals

A similar case unfolded in late 2019 and early 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Federal authorities charged the chair of Harvard University’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Charles Lieber, along with a Chinese foreigner who was also connected to Harvard.

Zaosong Zheng was a 30-year-old conducting cancer research at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Authorities arrested him at Boston’s Logan International Airport. He was attempting to smuggle 21 vials of stolen cancer cells hidden in a sock in his luggage.

Weeks later, on January 28, 2020, Lieber himself was arrested and charged with making false statements to federal authorities about his undisclosed participation in China’s Thousand Talents Program and large, undisclosed payments from China through the Wuhan University of Technology. The payments amounted to up to $50,000 per month.

Foreign citizenship of raises questions

The fact that both Munster and Kwe are foreigners working in one of America’s most sensitive BSL-4 facilities is cause for attention.

While NIH routinely employs international talent, critics note that granting high-level access to individuals from nations with varying biosecurity standards or geopolitical considerations can amplify risks to Americans.

The new arrests underscore longstanding debates about vetting, oversight, and whether U.S. taxpayer-funded labs should allow foreign scientists to lead or work on the most sensitive work involving potential select agents like monkeypox virus.

Earlier in his career, Munster received a young investigator award from vaccine maker Merck. At the time, he’d just established his independent Virus Ecology Unit at Rocky Mountain Laboratories. His research focused on the ecology, zoonotic spillover, cross-species transmission, and pathogenesis of emerging viruses — especially filoviruses (like Ebola), MERS-CoV, and bat-borne pathogens.

Munster is said to have played a large role in preclinical testing of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. The vaccine was never approved in the U.S. and was withdrawn from the global market in spring of 2024 starting with Europe.

Monkeypox (mpox) Concerns

Monkeypox, now officially called “mpox,” is a zoonotic orthopoxvirus first identified in monkeys in 1958 and in humans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.

Public health officials in the United States remain concerned about monkeypox (mpox) primarily due to the risk of importation and potential spread of the more virulent Clade I strain. That version has a historically higher fatality rate compared to the milder Clade II that caused the 2022 global outbreak.

While overall U.S. risk is currently considered low, fears center on travel-related cases. More than 20 Clade I infections have already been detected in the U.S. since late 2024. There is worry about laboratory accidents, unauthorized transport of samples as in the current case, and the potential for accidental or deliberate release.

A 2022 outbreak infected over 32,000 Americans, primarily gay and bisexual men. These concerns have intensified scrutiny of high-containment research facilities like Rocky Mountain Laboratories and led to strict import controls on the pathogen.

What happened to those two Harvard researchers arrested just before the Covid pandemic?

Not much.

A federal jury convicted Charles Lieber on December 21, 2021, on six felony counts. He was sentenced on April 26, 2023, to time served— two days— two years of supervised release including six months of home confinement, a $50,000 fine, and $33,600 in restitution to the IRS.

Zaosong Zheng pleaded guilty in December 2020 to one count of making false statements to federal agents about the smuggled vials.The original smuggling charge was dropped as part of the plea deal. He was sentenced on January 6, 2021, to time served, about 87 days and three years of supervised release. He was then deported.

The investigation into Munster and Kwe is ongoing and involves the FBI, CBP, and HHS-OIG. As one official put it, deliberate efforts to circumvent border processes “could have placed the public at risk.” The men face up to five years in prison if convicted. They are presumed not guilty until and unless they are found guilty in court.

Details of the arrests come from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Michigan.