FBI agents and police officers raided a mysterious “biological lab” inside a Las Vegas home, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
During a Sunday news conference, Sheriff Kevin McMahill said they found evidence of “possible biological material” inside the home, including “refrigerators with vials containing unknown liquids.”
According to the official, the incident is related to an “extremely complex” investigation that involves several agencies. They emphasized that there’s currently no need for alarm and no threat to the public.
We don’t know what exactly investigators found or whether they are in any way harmful. However, we do have an intriguing clue. The property was linked to Jia Bei Zhu, a 62-year-old Chinese citizen who was arrested in October 2023 on charges of manufacturing and distributing misbranded medical devices and making false statements to the FDA, according to NBC News.
According to court documents, Zhu and his collaborators were accused of manufacturing thousands of test kits, including for COVID-19, HIV, pregnancy, and urinalysis, among others, without the necessary sign-off from regulators.
That’s not all they were allegedly up to. Per ABC, a congressional investigation into Zhu and his collaborators found that they were housing samples of potential pathogens labeled as HIV, malaria, COVID-19, Ebola, and tuberculosis inside a home in Reedley, California. Roughly 1,000 dead and alive mice that were kept in overcrowded conditions were also reportedly found at the home.
Zhu pleaded guilty at the time but is currently in jail awaiting a spring trial.
While early reports suggest the Reedley operation and the latest raid in Las Vegas are connected, officials have yet to officially confirm any links. It’s also not clear if Zhu was charged with any crimes connected to the latest raid, as The Hill points out — though according to McMahill, at least one unnamed individual has been arrested.
Inside sources told ABC that investigators have since moved on to searching 20 other locations, but nothing concerning has yet to be found at them.
For now, investigators and hazmat teams have their work cut out as they continue to remove potentially biohazardous items from the Las Vegas home.
“I want to make sure those folks that live up there in the Northeast area have a clear understanding that the very large presence likely will remain in this neighborhood for several hours and potentially even days,” said McMahill during Sunday’s press conference.
More on biohazard: Department of Homeland Security Head Visited Biohazard Lab One Day Before Hospitalization