Officials sought probe into illegal China-linked California biolab long before raid

WE’RE LEARNING NEW DETAILS ABOUT A BIO LAB IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA – WITH TIES TO CHINA.
WE FIRST TOLD YOU ABOUT THE REEDLEY, CALIFORNIA, FACILITY BACK IN AUGUST. 

AT THE TIME – DETAILS OF WHAT WAS INSIDE, RAISED SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY IN FRESNO COUNTY. 

DOZENS OF REFRIGERATORS AND FREEZERS – HOOKED UP TO ILLEGAL WIRING. VIALS OF BLOOD AND HUNDREDS OF LAB MICE STORED IN CROWDED AND SOILED CONTAINERS. 

NOW- ACCORDING TO INTERNAL EMAILS AND DOCUMENTS OBTAINED BY FOX NEWS – NOT ONLY DID STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS KNOW ABOUT THOSE CONDITIONS AT THE OFF-THE-GRID LAB *MONTHS BEFORE THE PUBLIC DID. THERE HAD ALSO ALREADY BEEN CALLS TO INVESTIGATE THE COMPANY BEHIND IT. 

LOCAL OFFICIALS CALLED FOR A STATE INVESTIGATION INTO THE COMPANY BEHIND THE LAB IN THE FALL OF 20-22. AT THAT TIME – THEY WERE OPERATING OUT OF ANOTHER FACILITY IN FRESNO. 

BUT IT WASN’T UNTIL MARCH OF THIS YEAR THAT A RAID ON THE COMPANY’S REEDLEY LAB WOULD UNCOVER DISTURBING, AND DANGEROUS TESTING BEING CONDUCTED WITHOUT LICENSES TO DO SO.

THE SURROUNDING CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY WOULD WAIT SEVERAL MORE MONTHS BEFORE FINDING OUT ABOUT THE LAB.

AND EVEN THEN IT WAS THANKS TO REPORTING FROM A LOCAL ONLINE NEWS OUTLET WHICH PUBLISHED A STORY QUOTING COURT DOCUMENTS. 

ACCORDING TO FOX NEWS’ REVIEW OF THE NEWLY OBTAINED INTERNAL DOCUMENTS –

TWO CALIFORNIA STATE AGENCIES SAY THE CITY OF FRESNO **DELAYED ACTION TO SHUTDOWN A FACILITY FULL OF BIOLOGICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES –

INCLUDING THE CORONAVIRUS, MALARIA, AND H-I-V.

ONE CITY OFFICIAL FILED URGENT PLEAS WITH CALIFORNIA’S “ENVIRONMENTAL AND TOXIC SUBSTANCE AGENCIES” TO STEP IN AND HELP SHUT DOWN THE FRESNO FACILITY.

BUT THE PLEA REPORTEDLY FELL ON DEAF EARS FOR MONTHS IN A BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN LOCAL AND STATE OFFICIALS –

ON **WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IT WAS TO PROPERLY INVESTIGATE “GRAVE CONCERNS” ASSOCIATED WITH VIRUSES TESTED IN HUNDREDS OF RODENTS.

“UNIVERSAL MEDITECH INCORPORATED” AND “PRESTIGE BIOTECH” – 

HAD POPPED UP ON OFFICIALS’ RADAR **TWO YEARS PRIOR TO THE RAID THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY SHUT DOWN THE REEDLEY WAREHOUSE.

THAT’S BECAUSE FIREFIGHTERS RESPONDED TO A FIRE AT MEDITECH’S WORKSTATION IN FRESNO –

A FOLLOW-UP INVESTIGATION AFTER THE FIRE FOUND NUMEROUS SAFETY VIOLATIONS –

AND THE FIRE CHIEF ASKED FOR OTHER AGENCIES TO STEP IN AND FURTHER INVESTIGATE AFTER REPORTING FOUL ODORS IN THE BUILDING THAT THEY SUSPECTED WERE LINKED TO ANIMAL TESTING.

“PRESTIGE BIOTECH” TOLD INVESTIGATORS THEY WERE A “MEDICAL TESTING LAB”.

BUT LOCAL OFFICIALS CONCLUDED THIS QUOTE “WASN’T THE FULL PICTURE.”

AND SAID THE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS FOUND WERE BEYOND THEIR CAPABILITIES.

THE FIRE INSPECTOR FOR THE COUNTY SAID “TIME WAS OF THE ESSENCE” FOR STATE RESOURCES TO STEP IN AND ADDRESS THE SIGNIFICANT SAFETY HAZARD.

THE INSPECTOR KNEW OF THE LAB’S PLANS TO TRANSFER HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TO THE WAREHOUSE IN REEDLEY – AND ASKED FOR INTERVENTION BEFORE THE MOVE WAS MADE.

BUT STATE OFFICIALS SAID – THIS WASN’T THEIR WHEELHOUSE –

AND REFERRED THE ISSUE BACK TO THE COUNTY.

IT WAS DURING THIS BACK AND FORTH THAT THE CHINESE LAB WOULD TRANSFER MATERIALS TO THE REEDLEY WAREHOUSE —

WHERE CDC OFFICIALS WOULD DISCOVER THE LAB “IMPROPERLY HOUSED” 20 INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND VIRUSES –

AND NEARLY 800 MICE WERE FOUND – A QUARTER OF WHICH WERE DEAD.

ONE OF THE ROOMS INSIDE THE WAREHOUSE WAS PRODUCING PREGNANCY TESTS FOR COVID-19.

A HOUSE INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED AFTER NEWS OF THE RAID WAS MADE PUBLIC IN JULY.

THE LAB WAS FOUND INSIDE HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY’S CALIFORNIA DISTRICT.

HE SAYS LAWMAKERS ARE WORKING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE **INTENTIONS BEHIND THE EXPERIMENTS TAKING PLACE AT THE LAB –

AND WHETHER THIS IS OCCURRING ELSEWHERE IN THE U.S.

{“When you look at what’s going on in our own soil, our own background here, here is a lab that is studying doing things they didn’t have jurisdiction or rights to do, but if it wasn’t for code enforcement and fire, we would’ve never known about it. They were selling test kits that weren’t right, research that wasn’t allowed. My concern is to get to the bottom of what happened here but also where is this happening in other parts of the country as well.”}

THE WAREHOUSE HAS SINCE BEEN SHUT DOWN.

THE CITY OF REEDLEY CONSIDERS IT AN “ABANDONED BUILDING” AND PLANS TO DESTROY IT.