A possible biological laboratory discovered in a Las Vegas home on Saturday may be connected to an illegal medical lab previously found in California that contained infectious agents including HIV and malaria, according to investigators.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and FBI executed a search warrant at a home on Sugar Springs Drive early Saturday morning, where they discovered what authorities described as a “possible biological laboratory” containing “refrigerators with vials containing unknown liquids,” according to The Hill.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill called the investigation “extremely complex” during a Saturday news conference, noting that one suspect was taken into custody. The sheriff assured residents this was an isolated incident with no threat to the public.
“This has to be a slow and methodical process by design,” McMahill said. “We have to take these situations very seriously, and we take all necessary precautions to keep our personnel and community safe.”
Law enforcement sources told ABC News that the investigation began as a code-violation call before the Joint Terrorism Task Force took over when authorities suspected illegal medical-type biological research materials might be stored at the property.
Property records show an LLC tied to the Sugar Springs home matches the name of a company involved in an ongoing federal case in California. In that case, a Chinese citizen faces federal charges for allegedly manufacturing and distributing misbranded medical devices.
The 8 News Now Investigators learned that samples from the Las Vegas lab will be shipped to the FBI for testing. Materials found in vials are being transported to the county’s secure health facility to determine whether they are harmful.
The California case involved a raid on a suspected biolab in Reedley, California, where officials discovered “blood, tissue and other bodily fluid samples and serums; and thousands of vials of unlabeled fluids and suspected biological material,” according to a federal report from the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Some vials were labeled with pathogen names in English or Mandarin, including “dengue fever,” “HIV,” and “malaria.”
Investigators also found approximately 1,000 mice at the California facility. The Environmental Protection Agency was called in to clean up the chemicals at the illegal Reedley lab in 2024.
The man connected to the Reedley biolab remains in federal custody ahead of a spring trial. His name is listed as the registered agent of the Las Vegas-based company that owns the Sugar Springs Drive property, which was purchased in 2022.
Authorities are now searching 20 other locations to determine whether there might be any connection to Saturday’s raid, though sources say nothing concerning has been found at other locations so far.
Last year, three California congressmen sponsored a bill in the House aimed at preventing illegal and unregulated laboratories like the one found in Reedley. It was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in October 2025.
Recent Comments