A quiet Las Vegas neighborhood concealed a shocking secret: an unauthorized biolab discovered during a police raid. The investigation began after multiple individuals staying at the Airbnb rental fell gravely ill, prompting a search that revealed a disturbing array of equipment and suspicious substances.
Inside the five-bedroom house, officers found weapons alongside refrigerators filled with vials of unidentified liquids and sophisticated laboratory tools. Over a thousand samples were dispatched for urgent analysis, leading to the arrest of Ori Solomon, the property manager, on charges related to hazardous waste disposal and firearm possession.
Solomon maintains his innocence, claiming no involvement with the lab’s operations. However, the property’s history raises serious questions, having previously served as collateral for bail related to another individual with concerning ties.
That individual is Jia Bei Zhu, a Chinese national linked to the Chinese Communist Party, who was previously arrested for operating a similar clandestine biolab in Reedley, California. This discovery ignited fears of a network of undetected facilities operating within the United States.
The Reedley lab was a chilling find, packed with deceased test mice and vials labeled with some of the world’s most dangerous pathogens – malaria, COVID-19, tuberculosis, HIV, herpes, dengue fever, and even Ebola. The sheer volume of dangerous materials went unnoticed for years, highlighting a critical gap in oversight.
A national security expert emphasized the alarming length of time these facilities remained hidden. The Reedley lab was stumbled upon by chance during a routine code enforcement inspection, revealing a lack of proactive federal mechanisms to identify such threats.
Phone records reveal a significant connection between Zhu and the Las Vegas lab, with approximately 400 calls made in the past year. While Zhu’s attorney denies any knowledge of illegal activity, the frequency of contact is undeniably suspicious.
Zhu’s past is a complex web of business ventures and legal battles. He was once a successful businessman with close ties to the Chinese government, and a major shareholder in numerous cattle companies during a period of crisis in China’s dairy industry.
Later, Canadian authorities accused Zhu of intellectual property theft, specifically targeting American cattle-based innovations for transfer to China. He was convicted and fined heavily, but subsequently fled to the United States under an assumed identity.
Arriving in the U.S. as “David He,” Zhu established a series of biolabs, first in Fresno and then in Reedley. Despite the alarming contents of the Reedley lab, U.S. authorities haven’t charged him with operating an illegal facility, largely due to the fact that many of the vials remain untested.
Instead, Zhu faces charges of manufacturing and distributing misbranded medical devices and making false statements to the FDA, to which he has pleaded not guilty. He is currently in federal custody, awaiting trial, while investigators continue to unravel the full extent of his activities and potential connections.
The case has uncovered wire payments totaling over $1.3 million originating from Chinese banks, leading to additional charges of conspiracy and wire fraud, also denied by Zhu. The unfolding investigation raises profound questions about biosecurity and the potential for covert biological operations within the country.
