An illegal medical laboratory with apparent links to China was discovered in a warehouse in the town of Reedley, California, near Fresno, in April, new reports reveal.
Los Angeles-based news station KTLA reported Friday:
The disturbing discovery was made in April and was prompted by a simple garden hose that was illegally attached to the back of the building, officials said.
Officials said they found over 800 different chemicals – many of which couldn’t be immediately identified.
According to court documents, the Centers for Disease Control tested what they could and determined that at least 20 potentially infectious viral, bacterial, and parasitic agents were present including E. Coli, malaria, and even COVID.
NBC also noted that investigators found hundreds of laboratory mice, many of which had to be euthanized, as well as human tissue samples:
“Certain rooms of the warehouse were found to contain several vessels of liquid and various apparatus,” court documents said. “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.”
Hundreds of mice at the warehouse were kept in inhumane conditions, court documents said. The city took possession of the animals in April, euthanizing 773 of them; more than 175 were found dead.
An investigation found the tenant was Prestige BioTech, a company registered in Nevada and unlicensed for business in California. City officials spoke with Xiuquin Yao, who was identified as the company president, through emails included in the court documents.
NBC noted that some of the addresses for companies linked to the lab traced back to China, but were unresponsive.
The California Globe, a conservative publication, has reported more details about the mysterious lab, including court documents.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
