http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/05/13/border-biological-agents.html
“Winnipeg researcher charged with smuggling Ebola material into U.S.”
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 | 6:35 PM ET Comments119Recommend106
CBC News
SNIPPET: “A former researcher at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg is facing charges in the United States after allegedly trying to smuggle genetic material from the Ebola virus across the Manitoba-North Dakota border.
U.S. authorities allege Konan Michel Yao had 22 vials of the substance in the trunk of his car when he tried to cross the border on May 5. He is charged with smuggling merchandise, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 US.
U.S. customs officers allegedly found the vials wrapped in aluminum foil inside a glove and packaged in a plastic bag, along with electrical wires.
In his affidavit, the 42-year-old researcher said he was hired by the Public Health Agency of Canada to work as a PhD fellow at the Winnipeg facility. Yao told officers he was working on a vaccine for the Ebola virus and HIV.
On Jan. 21, his last day at the lab, he said he stole 22 vials, which he described as research vectors, according to the affidavit.”
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/ebola-gene-theft-a-shocker-44969902.html
“Ebola gene theft a shocker
Sparks serious questions about security at city’s microbiology lab”
By: Jen Skerritt
14/05/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0
SNIPPET: “WINNIPEG – For nearly four months, scientists at Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Lab had no idea that a former researcher walked out of the strictly controlled federal facility with 22 vials of stolen biological material — including vials that contained genes of the lethal Ebola virus.
The theft has sparked controversy and serious questions about security protocols at a lab that contains some of the world’s deadliest pathogens.
Dr. Frank Plummer, the lab’s scientific director, said no one knew the vials were missing until May 5 when the RCMP alerted them there had been a theft — the same day FBI special agents arrested the former Winnipeg researcher as he tried to cross the Manitoba-North Dakota border en route to his new job at a U.S. bio-defence facility in Maryland.”