Las Vegas (QNN)- A judge in Las Vegas has ordered the release of an Israeli man linked to an illegal biological laboratory discovered inside a residential home, despite mounting concerns over biohazards, illegal weapons, and possible links to a similar case in California.
Ori Solomon, 55, who holds Israeli and French passports, was released on bail on Friday after his arrest in late January. The court confiscated his passport and barred him from leaving the United States while legal proceedings continue. Solomon will also need court approval to travel outside the Las Vegas area.
Federal investigators uncovered the unlicensed laboratory inside Solomon’s home in the Sugar Springs neighborhood of Las Vegas. The FBI and local police found more than 1,000 vials containing unidentified liquids, along with laboratory equipment and materials classified as potential biological hazards.
Authorities said the investigation began after two separate complaints. One report involved the illegal dumping of medical waste. Another came from residents who noticed that the garage at the house remained permanently closed. Neighbors also reported that several people who tried to enter the garage later became seriously ill and were unable to leave their beds.
Police later searched the property and discovered a fully equipped biology lab inside the garage. Officers in protective gear, along with robots trained for biological, nuclear, and chemical threats, carried out the operation. Investigators found refrigerators filled with liquid samples, chemical processing machines, and advanced laboratory tools.
Nevada police said some substances appeared linked to pathogens associated with hepatitis, Covid-19, HIV, and malaria. Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the findings resembled materials seized in a secret laboratory case uncovered in Reedley, California, in 2023. Authorities have not confirmed a direct connection between the two cases.
Solomon entered the United States on a work visa and did not have legal authorization to possess firearms. Despite this, police found a Glock semi-automatic pistol, ammunition, and several rifles inside the house. Initial searches did not allow officers to seize the weapons due to limits in the warrant.
According to ABC News, Solomon later called his daughter and asked whether police had found his other weapons. A woman responded that three rifles remained inside a locked storage box. Police then obtained a second warrant and returned to the home to confiscate the firearms.
Despite the discovery of biological materials and illegal weapons, prosecutors did not charge Solomon over the biohazard findings. They also did not request his detention on firearm-related violations. Judge Elyana Youchah approved his release on bail and ordered him to surrender his passport.
Solomon is also linked to a previous secret laboratory case in California involving Chinese national Jia Bei Zhu, who remains in custody and is scheduled to stand trial in April 2026. Zhu’s lawyer denied any connection between his client and the Las Vegas laboratory.
The decision to release Solomon has drawn comparisons to previous cases in Nevada where Israelis faced limited consequences despite serious allegations. In 2025, a Nevada court released Israeli cybersecurity official Tom Artion Alexandrovich after his arrest in a child exploitation sting. Alexandrovich later left the United States and returned to Israel, and his case remains unresolved.
