Both work at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana, where they conduct research involving emerging viral pathogens and how diseases spread from animals to humans.
DETROIT – Two National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers have been charged in a federal criminal complaint alleging they conspired to smuggle inactivated MPOX virus samples into the United States. The men also made false statements to federal authorities, the criminal complaint alleges. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Federal prosecutors identified the two men as Vincent Munster, 53, a Dutch citizen, and Claude Kwe, 38, a Cameroonian citizen. Both work at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana, where they conduct research involving emerging viral pathogens and how diseases spread from animals to humans.
According to the Justice Department, the laboratory operates at Biosafety Level 4, the highest level of biosafety precautions used in scientific research involving dangerous pathogens.
According to the criminal complaint, the charges stem from an incident that occurred on January 25, 2026, when two researchers arrived at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, where an MPOX outbreak was ongoing.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, was first discovered by scientists in 1958 during an outbreak of a “pox-like” disease in monkeys. Until a few years ago, most human cases were found in people in central and west Africa who had close contact with infected animals.
Customs and Border Protection officers inspected and questioned the two upon their arrival. Munster and Quai told police a large black box they were carrying contained diagnostic and testing equipment, prosecutors said. Investigators later determined the case allegedly contained 113 vials stored in a Styrofoam cooler.
According to the Ministry of JusticeThe FBI tested 20 of the vials and found that 17 contained inactivated poxvirus, one contained chickenpox virus, and two contained human DNA.
U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. criticized the charges, saying: “These NIH experts clearly violated our laws by smuggling viral pathogens from an outbreak in the Republic of Congo on a commercial plane loaded with cargo. Let us know this.”
“The arrests of these individuals on serious federal charges send a clear and unmistakable message that no one, including HHS employees who have an obligation to protect our federal programs, are above the law,” said Marcus L. Sykes, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Any intentional concealment and smuggling of biological materials into the United States without appropriate authorization is a violation of the public trust and may put the public at risk.”
Munster and Que both face charges that carry up to five years in prison if convicted.
According to the World Health Organization, the most common symptoms of MPOX are rash and fever, but it can sometimes lead to severe illness. Most people make a full recovery.
In 2022, the virus was confirmed sexually transmitted For the first time, outbreaks were triggered in more than 70 countries where MPOX had not been previously reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
