BOSTON, Mass. — Federal prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against a Harvard Medical School researcher accused of smuggling frog embryo samples into the United States, ending a case that raised questions about immigration enforcement and the federal government’s treatment of international researchers.
Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born scientist working at Harvard Medical School, was detained at Boston Logan International Airport in February 2025 after returning from France with biological samples intended for scientific research.
Federal authorities accused Petrova of failing to declare the frog embryos and subsequently charged her with smuggling. Petrova maintained that she did not realize the samples needed to be declared and denied intentionally concealing them.
According to ABC News, customs agents detained Petrova after discovering the undeclared biological materials. Her visa was subsequently revoked, and she was placed in federal immigration custody as the Trump administration intensified its immigration enforcement efforts, including actions affecting international students and researchers.
Petrova’s detention raised concerns about her possible deportation to Russia, where she feared returning.
In May 2025, the Justice Department filed criminal charges against Petrova in connection with the transportation of the frog embryos. Her attorneys argued that the prosecution was unusual and unjustified, particularly given the nature of the biological samples and the circumstances surrounding their transportation.
Petrova was released from immigration custody in June 2025 but continued to face federal criminal charges.
Her attorneys also challenged the circumstances surrounding the revocation of her visa. A federal judge subsequently found that the cancellation of her visa by a customs officer had been improper.
William Fick, an attorney representing Petrova, criticized the government’s decision to pursue criminal charges.
The Justice Department “never should have brought this highly unusual smuggling prosecution” against Petrova, Fick told ABC News.
Her defense team argued that the prosecution may have been selective or vindictive, raising questions about whether federal authorities had improperly targeted Petrova after her immigration case attracted public attention.
“Two federal judges decided that the suspicious circumstances here warranted further investigation into whether Homeland Security and the DOJ unfairly targeted Ms. Petrova,” Fick said.
Petrova similarly argued that the Trump administration had singled her out for prosecution, according to a Reuters report published by Investing.com.
On Nov. 3, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the criminal case. The following day, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Massachusetts terminated the proceedings, bringing the prosecution to an end.
In explaining their decision, prosecutors cited the costs of continuing the case relative to the public interest in pursuing it.
“At this stage, the resource costs of continuing this prosecution outweigh the public interest in its resolution,” prosecutors stated.
The dismissal ended the criminal prosecution but did not establish that federal officials had intentionally targeted Petrova or resolve all questions surrounding the government’s handling of her immigration status.
Fick welcomed the Justice Department’s decision while maintaining that the charges should never have been filed.
During her detention at a federal immigration facility in Louisiana, Petrova told ABC News that she believed the government’s response to the incident had been excessively harsh.
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