FBI and Las Vegas Police Find Alleged Biological Lab Tied to Reedley

Federal and Las Vegas law enforcement executed a joint search at a northeast Las Vegas residence and found what investigators described as a biological lab inside the home, seizing laboratory-style equipment and large numbers of liquids and vials. Sheriff Kevin McMahill said officers located a refrigerator “containing vials filled with unknown liquids.” Police added that evidence was collected and sent for laboratory analysis: “Some of that evidence included biological material and liquids that were meticulously collected and sent to FBI labs for testing.”

Property records and linked filings tie the Las Vegas address to Jia Bei Zhu, the operator identified in earlier probes of an unauthorized Reedley biolab. Zhu is already in federal custody on charges alleging the manufacture and distribution of misbranded medical devices and making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration; he is scheduled to go to trial in April. The FBI executed a new search warrant at Zhu’s Reedley residence after the Las Vegas action, signaling an expanded federal review across state lines.

The Reedley investigation, which began after a code enforcement complaint in December 2022, uncovered thousands of vials labeled with pathogen names in committee materials and city images, and about 1,000 transgenic mice reportedly kept in overcrowded conditions. Workers in Reedley described packaging in vitro diagnostic test kits for shipment and handling blood, tissue and serums. One worker told investigators the mice were genetically engineered to simulate human immune systems and could carry COVID-19; other employees reportedly became ill after tending the animals. A local broadcast summarized the Las Vegas action: “A joint search warrant executed by Metro Police and the FBI led to the discovery of what's being called a biological lab inside of a home. Different liquids and vials still yet to be identified.”

Federal court documents allege that between December 2020 and March 2023 Jia Bei Zhu and an individual identified only as Wang manufactured, imported and distributed hundreds of thousands of test kits. Separate committee findings have advanced broader allegations about international ties and economic motives for some of the work, including connections to China’s dairy industry; those claims remain matters for investigators and have not produced separate criminal charges in U.S. courts beyond the FDA-related counts.

At the Las Vegas scene police arrested property manager Ory Solomon. Local reporting indicates the precise nature of Solomon’s charges is unclear and that a criminal complaint includes gun-related allegations tied to immigration status; official charging documents have not been released in full in the materials reviewed here.

For Fresno County and Reedley residents the cross-jurisdictional raid underscores persistent gaps in oversight of biological materials, code enforcement and commercial testing operations. The proximity of the Reedley site to a residential area, a high school and local water infrastructure amplifies those concerns and has prompted renewed calls for transparency from public-health and safety officials.

Federal testing of seized materials is ongoing, follow-up searches have been executed, and federal court proceedings involving Jia Bei Zhu continue to move toward a spring trial. Local and federal agencies have more work ahead to establish the contents of the seized materials, clarify ownership and management of linked properties, and define any lingering public-safety risks for the community.