A Russian Harvard University researcher was indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday in connection with trying to smuggle frog embryos into the U.S. through Boston Logan Airport, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Kseniia Petrova, 31, is facing one count each of smuggling goods into the U.S., concealment of a material fact and making a false statement, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release.
Petrova was arrested at the airport after flying to Boston from Paris on Feb. 16. She had flown with “non-hazardous, noninfectious and non-toxic frog embryos” in her checked bag at the request of her supervisor at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Leonid Peshkin, according to court documents.
A K-9 dog alerted to the bag while it was on the baggage carousel, which led customs and border protection agents to search it, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Federal authorities allege that Petrova initially lied about having carried any biological materials into the U.S. when questioned about the frog embryos and samples.
During an interview under oath, Petrova claimed to be unsure whether she was required to declare the embryos — a claim she maintained while being interviewed by The Associated Press in April. But text messages with Peshkin and another colleague warning her that she needed to declare the embryos and samples indicate that she knowingly did not declare the items, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Following her arrest, Petrova was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for months without being charged. She was finally charged via criminal complaint in mid May, but a federal judge in Vermont ordered her release less than a month later.
The judge ruled that Petrova was unlawfully detained, as neither she nor the frog embryos she was carrying posed a danger. She was finally released from ICE custody on June 12.
Petrova faces up to 30 years in prison, up to eight years of supervised release and up to $500,000 in fines if found guilty on all three charges.
