Russian-Born Harvard Scientist Arrested in the U.S. on Smuggling Charges

Kseniia Petrova, aged 31, faces a singular count of smuggling goods into the United States.

If convicted, she could confront up to 20 years in prison, along with five years of supervised release and a fine that could reach $250,000.

The announcement of the charges came mere hours after a federal judge in Vermont heard arguments in a lawsuit Petrova filed against the Trump administration, claiming she has been unlawfully detained at an immigration detention center in Louisiana for several months.

Following her charge, she was moved from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody to a local Louisiana parish jail.

An initial hearing for her criminal case is scheduled for May 15.

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Petrova entered immigration custody on February 16 after arriving at Logan International Airport in Boston from Paris.

Prosecutors assert that Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted her as her checked duffle bag was flagged for inspection, uncovering biological materials, including a foam box with clawed frog embryos in microcentrifuges, along with embryonic samples contained in paraffin wax and mounted on dyed slides.

These biological items must be declared and require a permit to enter the country.

Initially, Petrova denied possessing such materials in her luggage but later admitted to having biological specimens when questioned again.

She was informed of her ineligibility for entry into the U.S., subsequently choosing to withdraw her application for admission, according to prosecutors.

The Trump administration has indicated plans to deport her back to Russia.

Lawyer Claims Case is ‘Meritless’

Petrova stated that she left Russia to escape potential conflict and political oppression after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. She expressed concerns of imprisonment upon her return due to her political beliefs.

Her attorney, Gregory Romanovsky, described the charges as “meritless,” criticizing the timing of the allegations, as they surfaced after a judge slated a bail hearing for her release on May 28.

“The charge, which was filed three months post the alleged customs infraction, appears aimed at depicting Kseniia as a criminal to rationalize efforts to deport her,” he remarked.

During a sworn interview, Petrova reportedly claimed uncertainty regarding her obligation to declare biological materials upon entering the country, according to prosecutors.

However, prosecutors revealed that text messages from a colleague alerted her to the necessity of declaring such biological items.

In response to a query about her customs clearance plans involving the biological samples, Petrova reportedly said: “No plan yet. I won’t be able to swallow them.”

Petrova’s case has garnered criticism from Democrats, including Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, who filed an amicus brief on May 12 opposing the government’s attempts to dismiss her release petition.

The brief indicates that Petrova had been engaged in vital research on degenerative diseases at Harvard under a legitimate J-1 visa prior to her detention over ten weeks ago.

“Ms. Petrova’s situation isn’t isolated—it’s the latest instance of the Trump Administration’s reckless and cruel misuse of power to intimidate and penalize non-citizen members of the academic community,” Campbell stated. “I will persist in advocating for the rights of our international students and faculty, whose contributions are pivotal to our academic and economic success.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts reported that Petrova recently worked at the Institute of Genetic Biology in Moscow from 2023 to 2024 and previously as a bioinformatician at the Moscow Center for Genetics from 2016 to 2023.

Harvard University commented that it “continues to monitor the situation.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to Petrova’s attorney for additional comments.

Contributions to this report were made by The Associated Press and Reuters.