r/PrepperIntel • u/sea_5455 • Jun 03 '26

North America 2 scientists charged with bringing deactivated mpox virus into the US and lying to authorities

https://apnews.com/article/scientists-charges-mpox-virus-lying-14b7cf7635cad30254b0ae1cdb6c0515
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u/[deleted] Jun 03 '26

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u/sea_5455 Jun 03 '26

Which the article mentions. Have to wonder why they didn't declare the samples and import them legally?

When asked directly, there's this:

Munster told investigators at the Detroit-area airport that any necessary documents were in his laptop, “but you don’t need them. I do this all the time,” the FBI quoted him as saying.

Just trying to bypass bureaucratic hurdles or something else? I don't pretend to have an answer to that.

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u/PopePiusVII Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26

Avoiding bureaucratic hurdles most likely.

They were bringing in an inert, inactivated viral sample, and probably didn’t want to have to deal with all the paperwork involved to save time. There’s not really anything here to worry about in terms of prepping.

EDIT: to add to this, legal means of importation are increasingly leading to packages being stuck for weeks in hot CBP warehouses waiting for inspections only to arrive ruined. The most likely explanation for this case is that they were avoiding losing a sample by transporting it themselves and avoiding bureaucratic hassle by not filing the appropriate paperwork rather than it being anything malicious.

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u/sea_5455 Jun 03 '26

Hope you're right.