Overview

• Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu were charged with conspiracy, smuggling, visa fraud and false statements after attempting to bring Fusarium graminearum—classified as a potential agroterrorism weapon—into the United States.
• Officials say the smuggling operation began in August 2022 and ended with Liu’s arrest at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in July 2024, following earlier attempts to hide the fungus in boots and ship it in a statistics book.
• Liu was deported to China shortly after his arrest and faces no current U.S. charges unless he returns, while Jian remains in federal custody awaiting a bond hearing in Detroit.
• The fungus causes head blight in wheat, barley, maize and rice and produces toxins linked to vomiting, liver damage and reproductive defects in humans and livestock.
• FBI Director Kash Patel warned the case illustrates CCP efforts to infiltrate American institutions, and federal agents from the FBI and CBP are continuing to investigate potential accomplices.