Secret Chinese-Linked Biotech Lab Found In California
A months-long investigation has uncovered a secret Chinese-linked biotech lab in California containing nearly 1,000 mice and 20 potentially infectious agents, along with COVID tests and human blood, according to authorities.
Fresno County authorities, working alongside federal officials, discovered the “unlicensed laboratory” inside a warehouse in Reedley, California. The secret facility was owned by Prestige BioTech, which was registered in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The president of Prestige BioTech has been identified as Xiuquin Yao. “Yao told officials that Prestige BioTech moved assets belonging to a defunct company, Universal Meditech Inc., to the Reedley warehouse from Fresno after UMI went under. Prestige Biotech was a creditor to UMI and identified as its successor, according to court documents,” NBC News reported.
The investigation into the facility was prompted by concerns from a code enforcement officer, who noticed a garden hose attached and coming out of a wall in the back of the warehouse on March 3 of this year.
Speaking in an interview with local news outlet KSEE, Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba discussed the discovery.
“Frankly, we knew that should not have been there and when she went to investigate, she found that there was activity or operation or something happening within that building,” Zieba said.
After the code enforcement officer reported the concerning activities, the Fresno County Public Health Department obtained search warrants and ultimately discovered the secret biotech lab on March 16.
The court documents stated: “Certain rooms of the warehouse were found to contain several vessels of liquid and various apparatus… Fresno County Public Health staff also observed blood, tissue and other bodily fluid samples and serums; and thousands of vials of unlabeled fluids and suspected biological material.”
Fresno County Public Health Department assistant director Joe Prado also spoke out in a television interview about the discovery.
“So there was over 800 different chemicals on site in different bottles of different acids. Unfortunately, a lot of these are being categorized under unknown chemicals,” he said.
Local news outlet KFSN-TV noted: “Through the process, health officials say they found the company, Prestige Biotech and Universal Meditech, had refrigerators filled with chemicals, human blood, illegal COVID and pregnancy tests, and just under 1,000 mice.”
The court documents report that hundreds of the mice at the location were being kept in inhumane conditions, while more than 175 of them were already dead when the lab was discovered. In April, roughly one month after the lab was found, the city euthanized 773 of the mice.
A Health and Human Services (HHS) letter dated June 6 has revealed that tests conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified at least 20 potentially infectious agents within the laboratory — including COVID, HIV, hepatitis and herpes.
All hazardous materials have been removed from the facility as of July 7, according to officials.
Officials have been unable to find any California-based addresses for Prestige BioTech or now-defunct Universal Meditech, only unverifiable China-based addresses.
“The other addresses provided for identified authorized agents were either empty offices or addresses in China that could not be verified,” court documents stated, according to NBC News.
The Chinese-linked biotech companies also do not appear to have any permits or licenses required to operate such a facility.
The Epoch Times reported, “Court documents say both companies failed to provide any licensing that allows laboratory activity, nor did they provide the necessary permits for storing and importing chemical reagents from outside the United States.”
Federal authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the matter.
