Scientists charged after one caught smuggling dangerous germs out of country
OTTAWA – The Mounties have charged two former government scientists after one of them was caught trying to smuggle highly contagious pathogens out of the country.
They say Klaus Nielsen and Wei Ling Yu, both former researchers with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, are charged with breach of trust by a public officer in a scheme to commercialize agency property.
Nielsen also faces several charges under the Export and Import Permits Act, the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act and the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act.
He was caught on his way to the Ottawa airport last October carrying 17 vials of what turned out to be live brucella bacteria that can infect livestock and humans.
Some of the charges deal with unsafe transportation of the germs.
Yu is still at large and a Canada-wide warrant has been issued for her arrest.
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