Tag: Cameroon

Two researchers charged with allegedly trying to smuggle mpox through Detroit Metro Airport

Posted on by Leave a comment
commercial airplanes at new york airport runway

Two foreign nationals working at the National Institutes of Health are facing charges for allegedly trying to smuggle mpox into the United States through the Detroit Metro Airport. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Vincent Munster, 53, a citizen of the Netherlands, and Claude Kwe, 38, a citizen of Cameroon, are accused of providing federal authorities with false statements after arriving at the McNamara Terminal on Jan. 25, 2026. Officials say the two people, who were researchers, originally traveled from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, where an mpox outbreak was ongoing. Customs and Border Protection officials spotted the individuals with a black plastic case, according to a criminal complaint.

When asked, Munster and Kwe told federal officials the case was carrying diagnostic and testing equipment. Further inspection uncovered 113 vials in styrofoam coolers. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI tested 20 of the vials shortly after the discovery — 17 of those vials contained “deactivated monkeypox virus” while another contained the chickenpox virus and two others contained human DNA. “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, in a statement. “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.”    Munster, chief of the Virus Ecology Section at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, and Kwe, a research fellow, told federal officials that they were tasked with studying viruses that could affect the United States, according to the complaint. The individuals told officials they had been in the Republic of Congo for more than a week studying a strain of mpox. “Munster and Kwe did not present the true identities of the biological materials in their possession and did not provide or possess the necessary certifications. Rather, Munster and Kwe attempted to pass the samples off as unused diagnostics,” read the complaint. FBI investigators spoke with officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who determined that Munster and Kwe needed a USDA permit to travel into the U.S. with the materials, according to the complaint.

According to the USDA, the Code of Federal Regulations mandates that “no organisms or vectors shall be imported into the United States or transported from one State or Territory or the District of Columbia to another State or Territory or the District of Columbia without a permit.” “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,” Runyan said. This comes one year after Chinese nationals were accused of smuggling a “dangerous biological pathogen” into Michigan. Yunqing Jian, 33, from the People’s Republic of China, was deported after pleading guilty and receiving a sentence of time served.

Source: Two researchers charged with allegedly trying to smuggle mpox through Detroit Metro Airport – CBS Detroit

Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Romans 13:7

Plague in Russia?

Russian authorities have sought to allay global worries over the death of a young woman who worked at a Siberian anti-plague laboratory. But moves to isolate her contacts and…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Human trafficking a rising problem in Cameroon

Posted on by Leave a comment
news

Human trafficking in Cameroon has been impeded by social stigma, inadequate financial resources, as well as lack of clarity in the laws.

During a workshop on human trafficking organized by the Justice and Peace Commission of the Kumbo Diocese Christopher Bello said Cameroon is a source, transit and destination for human trafficking, noting this modern slavery has spiked as a result of the separatist conflict in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.

Source: Human trafficking a rising problem in Cameroon, Catholic Church says | Crux

He who builds His layers in the sky, And has founded His strata in the earth; Who calls for the waters of the sea, And pours them out on the face of the earth— The LORD is His name.
Amos 9:6

Trump and Rubio question U.K. handling of possible plot against air base after 5 men released on bail

President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have criticized British counterterror police’s handling of a possible plot targeting a U.K. air base used by U.S. forces, with Rubio calling it a “very serious” incident and alleging that it “clearly involved” a foreign actor, and the president suggesting it “might be” Iran. Five British nationals,…

Drink of Jesus's avatar by Drink of Jesus

Rat birth control program expanding to Albany Park

Chicago is consistently named one of the “rattiest” cities in America and an effort to change that is expanding. As more communities are turning to rat birth control, community leaders on the Northwest Side are trying something new — getting neighbors involved. A community info session was held on Tuesday night a few weeks ahead…

Drink of Jesus's avatar by Drink of Jesus

Boil water advisory continues for Village of Romeo

A boil water advisory continues until further notice in the Village of Romeo in Macomb County, Michigan, where a water main break occurred on Saturday. While the water main break was isolated and water pressure restored over the weekend, village officials said a boil water advisory remains in effect until further notice. When a boil water advisory…

Drink of Jesus's avatar by Drink of Jesus

New giant pandas from China arrive in Atlanta zoo

Two giant pandas from China have arrived in the U.S. as part of an agreement between the Chinese and American governments, the Atlanta zoo confirmed on Sunday. The zoo said giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Sunday morning “via a dedicated ‘FedEx Panda Express’ Boeing 777 aircraft.” “This…

Drink of Jesus's avatar by Drink of Jesus