Rocky Mountain Laboratory scientists accused of smuggling mpox samples into the U.S.

https://www.krtv.com/news/montana-news/rocky-mountain-laboratory-scientists-accused-of-unlawful-transportation-of-virus-samples

HELENA — Two researchers who work at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton are accused of bringing monkeypox (mpox) samples into the United States without proper documentation and lying to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol about being in possession of the samples.

A criminal complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against Vincent Munster, Chief of the Virus Ecology Unit in the Laboratory of Virology, and Claude Kwe, a research fellow at the Laboratory of Virology. The complaint alleges a conspiracy to import merchandise contrary to law and giving false statements to federal officials.

According to court documents, Munster and Kwe were stopped by customs officials after a return trip from the Republic of Congo at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on January 25, 2026. The two were traveling on National Institute of Health Business for research purposes. The area was experiencing an mpox outbreak at the time. ......