NIH Monkeypox Scientists Accused of Smuggling Virus Samples Thru Airport

It appears that the Detroit Metropolitan Airport is the gateway for illegal imported biological samples to make their way into the country.

Legal Insurrection readers may recall that a year ago, two Chinese “researchers” were accused of conspiring to bring the fungus Fusarium graminearum (classified in scientific literature as a potential agroterrorism weapon) into the country by smuggling it through the Detroit Metro Airport. Yunqing Jian ultimately pleaded guilty in late 2025 and was sentenced to time served (about five months in custody) with removal back to China; her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, remains charged but outside U.S. custody, having been denied entry and considered “at large.”

Now two NIH researchers have been charged in a federal criminal complaint with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox (mpox)–related materials into the country via Detroit Metro Airport and making false statements to federal authorities.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Vincent Munster, 53, a citizen of the Netherlands, and Claude Kwe, 38, a citizen of Cameroon, are accused of providing federal authorities with false statements after arriving at the McNamara Terminal on Jan. 25, 2026. Officials say the two people, who were researchers, originally traveled from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, where an mpox outbreak was ongoing...