Harvard researcher who was taken into ICE custody at Boston Logan has been indicted

Rick Sobey, Boston Herald on Jun 25, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

BOSTON — The Harvard researcher who was taken into ICE custody at Boston Logan airport for allegedly trying to smuggle in biological items has been indicted, according to the feds.

Russian national Kseniia Petrova, 31, was indicted on Wednesday by a federal grand jury in connection with attempting to smuggle clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples into the U.S.

Petrova arrived at Logan International Airport on a flight from Paris on Feb. 16. Upon her arrival, Petrova was stopped by Customs and Border Protection agents after a law enforcement K9 allegedly alerted its handler to her checked duffel bag on the baggage carousel.

Agents removed the bag from the carousel, and brought it to an agricultural secondary inspection area for further screening.

An officer inspected the contents of the bag and allegedly discovered undeclared biological items, including a foam box containing clawed frog embryos in microcentrifuges, as well as embryonic samples in paraffin well stages and on mounted dyed slides.

All travelers are required to declare any articles brought into the U.S. to customs at the port of first arrival.

When approached by law enforcement, Petrova allegedly denied carrying any biological material in her checked baggage. However, when asked again, Petrova allegedly admitted that she was carrying biological material.

During an interview under oath, Petrova allegedly claimed to be unsure that she was required to declare the embryos when entering the U.S.

But the feds allege that her phone revealed texts from an individual identified as one of Petrova’s colleagues — informing Petrova that she was required to declare the biological material: “If you bring samples or antibody back, make sure you get the permission etc. Like that link I sent to leon-/group chat about frog embryos because TSA went through my bags at customs in Boston.”

In another text conversation, an individual identified as her principal investigator allegedly asked Petrova, “What is your plan to pass the American Customs with samples? This is the most delicate place of the trajectory.”

After the principal investigator again asked how Petrova planned to get through customs with the biological samples, she allegedly replied: “No plan yet. I won’t be able to swallow them.”

She was indicted on one count of concealment of a material fact, one count of false statement and one count of smuggling goods into the U.S.

Petrova was taken into immigration custody on Feb. 16, and was charged by criminal complaint on May 14 in connection with the federal case. She’s currently on pretrial release.

________