Feds charge foreign scientists with smuggling monkeypox into United States

I thought monkeypox was out of the news for good since it mostly spreads between gay men (and their dogs).

But not if the Dutch have anything to say about it! Or the Cameroonians.

A couple of knucklehead "scientists" tried to sneak monkeypox into the country to take it to a research laboratory.

Here's the DoJ's release on the arrests:

Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, both researchers with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory were charged today in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States and giving false statements to federal law enforcement, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced ...

According to the criminal complaint, Vincent Munster, a citizen of the Netherlands, 53, is the Chief of the Virus Ecology Section, Laboratory of Virology at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana. Claude Kwe, a citizen of Cameroon, 38, is a research fellow in Munster's section. The work of both men is focused on ‘emerging viral pathogens' and how those pathogens ‘cross the species barrier.' They work at a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory, which employs the highest level of biosafety precautions for scientific research of known and potential human pathogens.

Vincent Munster sounds like one of Herman's long-lost cousins.

According to CNN, Munster is in charge of the "virus ecology section at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana," which is part of Fauci's old stomping grounds at the NIH, (because America needs more foreign-born scientists experimenting on deadly viruses?). The duo had just returned with Kwe from a trip to the Republic of the Congo. After connecting through Paris, the pair tried to sneak the deactivated monkeypox virus past airport security and were caught.

(C.S. Lewis was right about scientists, wasn't he?)

More from the Justice Department:

Munster and Kwe were inspected and interviewed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials upon their arrival. CBP officers observed Kwe and Munster traveling with a large black plastic case. Munster and Kwe falsely told CBP officers that the black case contained diagnostics and testing equipment. But subsequent investigation by CBP and FBI agents revealed that the case actually contained 113 vials in Styrofoam coolers. As of the date of the complaint, the FBI has tested 20 of the 113 vials. Seventeen of them contained deactivated monkeypox virus, one contained the Chickenpox virus, and two contained only human DNA.

'These NIH experts apparently broke our laws by smuggling viral pathogens on a packed commercial airplane from an outbreak in the Republic of Congo. Let that sink in,' United States Attorney Gorgon stated.

'No researchers should believe their positions, credentials, or professional status place them above the law,' said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. '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. I am grateful for the outstanding and diligent work of the FBI Detroit JTTF, FBI Billings' Missoula Resident Agency, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection team at Detroit Metro Airport, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - OIG, for keeping our communities safe.'

Thank goodness they were caught, but I think we need to dig into the NIH a little deeper to find out why their researchers feel the need to sneak deadly viruses into the United States in violation of federal law.