Harvard scientist accused of smuggling frog embryos, ‘biological materials' to US; trial begins
In a US court hearing on Wednesday, attorneys argued over whether a Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought 'biological materials' in the US.
Russian-born scientist named Kseniia Petrova, aged 30, conducting cancer research for Harvard Medical School, appeared in Massachusetts federal court, ABC News reported.
In February, Petrova was questioned by US Customs and Border Protection at Boston Logan International Airport, while she was returning from a vacation in France. Earlier, she had stopped at a lab specialising in splicing superfine sections of frog embryos and obtained a package of samples for research. Federal officials accused her of lying about 'carrying substances' into the country and alleged that Petrova planned to smuggle the embryos through customs without declaring them.
Meanwhile, Petrova told Associated Press news agency in an interview that she did not know the items needed to be declared and was not trying to sneak anything into the country. She also said that her visa was being canceled and detained by immigration officials in Vermont after her initial arrest.
After filing a petition for her release, she was briefly sent to an ICE facility in Louisiana, after which a judge ruled the immigration officers' actions were unlawful. In May, she was charged with one count of smuggling.
The Homeland Security Investigations agent, Brian Goldsworthy, who wrote the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint against Petrova, testified that Petrova would not have been allowed to leave the airport had she declared the frog embryos in her luggage, ABC News reported. He also said that Customs and Border Protection agriculture experts and a federal laboratory that reviewed the samples deemed them to be biological material, ABC News reported.
In Petrova's defense, her attorney argued that it was unclear what definition of biological material, government was operating under. After the hearing, both sides will now have the chance to submit briefs to the judge.
If convicted of the charges, Petrova could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
(With AP Inputs)
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