Russian scientist from Harvard accused of smuggling frog embryos is released from federal custody

A Harvard scientist who spent months in custody on a federal smuggling charge was released Thursday after a bail hearing in Boston.

Russian citizen Kseniia Petrova was stopped in February at Boston's Logan Airport by Customs and Border Protection agents as she returned on a flight from Paris. The Justice Department said in a press release that a search of her bags turned up undeclared frog embryos and embryonic samples. Petrova initially denied carrying biological materials but later admitted to it, the Justice Department said.

According to a court filing by Petrova's attorney, the materials were "non-hazardous, noninfectious, and non-toxic" and she was transporting them at the request of the leader of a research group at Harvard Medical School.