Federal authorities have uncovered what they describe as a possible biological laboratory operating inside a Las Vegas home that doubled as a short-term rental. The property is tied to a Chinese national already facing criminal charges in connection with a secret biolab previously exposed in California.
The discovery has now raised urgent questions. How did a home allegedly stocked with lab equipment and unknown substances function as an Airbnb? And how many unsuspecting renters may have been exposed?
FBI Raid Reveals Suspicious Equipment
Police raided a residence on Sugar Springs Drive in northeast Las Vegas on Saturday. The home is owned by Jia Bei Zhu, the criminally charged Chinese national connected to a clandestine lab discovered in Reedley, California, in late 2022.
Authorities say the property was managed by Ori Solomon, an Israeli national currently in the United States on an E-2 visa.
Inside the house, investigators encountered what Christopher Delzotto, FBI special agent in charge at the bureau’s Las Vegas office, described as a troubling scene. Agents found a “possible biological laboratory” complete with a “bio-safety hood, a bio-safety sticker, a centrifuge, multiple refrigerators, red-brown unknown liquids in gallon-sized containers, and refrigerated vials with unknown liquids.”
Those items, taken together, painted a disturbing picture.
Rental Property Allegedly Tied to Severe Illnesses
Even more alarming, documents obtained by KLAS-TV indicate the property may have been used as an Airbnb rental. According to those records, multiple people became severely ill after staying there.
Blaze News has reached out to Airbnb for comment.
Police previously indicated that three renters were living at the home at the time of the raid. All were safely removed and are not currently implicated in the investigation.
However, reports suggest others may not have been so fortunate.
House Cleaner Raises the Alarm
A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department arrest report reviewed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal revealed that a house cleaner tipped off authorities last month. The cleaner reportedly worked for Solomon and Zhu, as well as for Zhu’s business partner and apparent lover, Zhaoyan Wang.
She told investigators she discovered three refrigerators in the garage alongside beakers filled with “reddish liquid.” More troubling still was the smell.
The cleaner described the garage as smelling like a hospital, but “not like a clean hospital but more of a foul, stale, stagnant air smell.”
According to the police report, she and another individual later became “deathly ill” after entering the garage. They reportedly suffered breathing problems, fatigue, and other symptoms so severe that they “could not get out of bed” days later.
The tipster, identified in the report as “Kelly,” warned authorities that “a lot of people who have lived inside the house have gotten sick” and that “one female ended up in the hospital with severe respiratory issues.”
Arrests and Federal Charges
Meanwhile, Solomon was arrested over the weekend on a charge of disposing and discharging hazardous waste.
Investigators allege Zhu contacted Solomon 467 times last month while Zhu was in federal custody. Authorities have accused Solomon of acting as a primary “agent and conspirator” with Zhu.
Federal prosecutors later added a weapons charge, alleging Solomon possessed multiple firearms despite being prohibited from doing so as a foreign national with a non immigrant visa.
Officials say Solomon has been managing 37 Airbnb properties.
Echoes of the Reedley Lab
The situation in Las Vegas is particularly troubling because of Zhu’s alleged ties to the previously uncovered laboratory in Reedley, California.
According to a report by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, the Reedley site housed thousands of mutated mice and at least 20 potentially infectious agents. Those reportedly included HIV, tuberculosis, COVID-19, and the deadliest known form of malaria. Investigators also found a freezer labeled “ebola” on site.
If similar materials were present in Las Vegas, the public health implications could be significant.
For now, authorities continue to investigate the full scope of operations inside the Sugar Springs Drive property. Meanwhile, questions remain about oversight, enforcement, and how a suspected biological lab could allegedly operate inside a short term rental home in a major American city.
