Two foreign nationals who tried to smuggle Monkeypox through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport while working as researchers for the U.S. government were charged this week.
Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, who both worked for the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana, allegedly tried to smuggle 113 vials – some of which contained the infectious virus – into the U.S. through Detroit in January after travelling to the Republic of Congo.
“These NIH experts apparently broke our laws by smuggling viral pathogens on a packed commercial airplane from an outbreak in the Republic of Congo,” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said in a statement. “Let that sink in.”
NEWS ALERT from @FBIDetroit: Two researchers with the National Institutes of Health were charged with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States and giving false statements to federal law enforcement.
A federal complaint alleges that the researchers told Customs and… pic.twitter.com/pZdLnMwWRz
— FBI (@FBI) June 2, 2026
Munster, who’s from the Netherlands, is chief of virus ecology at the NIH, while Kwe, a Cameroonian, is a research fellow, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection interviewed Munster and Kwe after they landed in Detroit on January 25 with “a large black plastic case” containing the vials.
🚨 BREAKING: Two NIH foreign researchers charged with smuggling monkeypox virus into the US.
Vincent Munster (Netherlands) & Claude Kwe (Cameroon) — both working at NIH’s high-security Rocky Mountain Lab — allegedly flew in from Congo (active outbreak zone) on Jan 25 with 113… pic.twitter.com/3TYdhoD7sb
— GRANDPA’s FREE ADVICE (@GOP_is_Gutless) June 2, 2026
“Munster and Kwe falsely told CBP officers that the black case contained diagnostics and testing equipment,” the DOJ said. “But subsequent investigation by CBP and FBI agents revealed that the case actually contained 113 vials in Styrofoam coolers.”
The FBI has so far tested 20 of the vials, with 17 containing “deactivated” Monkeypox, two containing human DNA, and one containing chickenpox.
“No researchers should believe their positions, credentials, or professional status place them above the law,” FBI Detroit Field Office Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan said. “The allegations in this case are serious. They involve the dangerous and unlawful smuggling of deactivated Mpox virus into the United States and alleged efforts to mislead our federal agents.”
Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana last month requested the Department of Health & Human Services inspector general investigate the lab, which is in Hamilton, Montana.
“Last night, @TheJusticeDept charged two researchers at Rocky Mountain Laboratory with smuggling monkeypox into the country and lying to border agents,” Sheehy said on X. “This is exactly why I called for HHS to launch an investigation. Montana families deserve answers and accountability.”
Last night, @TheJusticeDept charged two researchers at Rocky Mountain Laboratory with smuggling monkeypox into the country and lying to border agents.
This is exactly why I called for HHS to launch an investigation. Montana families deserve answers and accountability. https://t.co/9mHdovbrYW
— Tim Sheehy (@TimSheehyMT) June 3, 2026
The University of Michigan has become known as a hotbed of activity for Chinese nationals accused of espionage and biological smuggling, leading to a federal investigation.
Chengxuan Han, a Chinese national from Wuhan, last year pleaded guilty to smuggling biomaterials into the U.S. while working at a lab at the University of Michigan.
