The discovery of a clandestine biological laboratory at a home in suburban Las Vegas, apparently linked to a similar unauthorized facility in California, has alarmed officials who warn that the United States may be unprepared for hidden bioterrorism threats.On January 31, Las Vegas police raided a five-bedroom house in a quiet residential neighborhood after several people living there became “seriously ill,” the Daily Mail reported. Police found multiple refrigerators, unknown liquids in bottles and jars and lab-style equipment inside a garage that had been converted into a makeshift biology laboratory. More than 1,000 samples were sent to the National Center for Bioforensic Analysis for testing, and authorities are continuing to examine what substances are present in them.Property manager Ori Solomon, 55, was arrested after police said they also found a cache of weapons inside the house. He was charged with disposing and discharging hazardous waste and was prohibited from possessing firearms due to his visa status. His attorney said Solomon had no involvement in the lab.The discovery in Las Vegas is directly linked to a larger investigation in Reedley, California, where an illegal biolab was discovered in late 2022 and investigated in 2023. Local officials found thousands of vials containing biological substances with labels including malaria, HIV, Covid-19 and Ebola, as well as about 1,000 laboratory mice believed to be used for testing.The Ridley facility is linked to Zhu Jiabei, a Chinese national who faces federal charges related to the California lab and an unrelated scheme to sell unapproved medical tests. Court documents show that Zhu received large, unexplained payments from Chinese banks while running his secret business. In 2015, he was fined for stealing American intellectual property, fled Canada and entered the United States under an assumed name.Phone records show Zhu, who remains in custody, made nearly 400 calls to the Las Vegas property over the past year, although his attorney said he was unaware of illegal activity at the location.To date, there is no direct evidence that the substances found in either laboratory were used to develop biological weapons. The FBI said many of the materials recovered from the Las Vegas property appeared to be related to the manufacture of coronavirus and pregnancy test kits and flu vaccines, but some samples were too degraded to be tested. The FBI has concluded its investigation.
