A joint investigation by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation uncovered what authorities described as a possible biological laboratory inside a home in the east Las Vegas valley Saturday morning.
According to an LVMPD release, investigators discovered the lab while serving a search warrant at a residence on Sugar Springs Drive near Hollywood Boulevard and Washington Avenue. Inside the home, officers found refrigerators containing vials of unknown liquids and other materials believed to be biologicals.
Police said the samples are en route to the National Bioforensic Analysis Center (NBFAC) at Fort Detrick, Maryland, for testing.
According to property records, the LLC tied to a similar illegal biological laboratory discovered in Reedley, California, in 2022, owns the home on Sugar Springs Drive. In that case, federal investigators accused the operators of importing hundreds of COVID-19 test kits from China and falsely marketing them as U.S.-made and approved by the FDA and CDC.
The U.S. Department of Justice stated the operation ran from August 2020 to March 2023 and generated about $1.7 million.
A report from the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party detailed that the Reedley facility contained thousands of vials labeled with pathogens such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis, and dengue fever. A vial labeled “Ebola” was also found.
Investigators further reported that 1,000 mice were being kept in inhumane conditions and genetically modified to mimic human immune systems.
Jia Bei Zhu, also known by several aliases, was arrested in October 2023 in connection with the Reedley case and later indicted on federal charges involving misbranded medical devices and false statements to the FDA. Though an illegal alien, Jia remains listed as a registered agent for the Nevada-based LLC tied to the Las Vegas property.
Authorities report that one person was in custody in the Las Vegas investigation.
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