Particle.news
Download on the App Store
23 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Third Chinese National Arrested for Smuggling Biological Material

Federal authorities allege she sent concealed roundworm samples to a University of Michigan lab without import permits, the latest in an FBI crackdown on CCP-linked pathogen smuggling.

Image
The University Of Michigan North Campus signage at the University Of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan on July 30, 2019.
Image

Overview

  • Chengxuan Han, a PhD student from Wuhan, was detained at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on June 8 after shipping four packages containing biological material related to roundworms to contacts at a University of Michigan laboratory.
  • Prosecutors say Han lied to Customs and Border Protection officers about the contents of her shipments and erased data from her electronic device days before her arrival.
  • Han is the third Chinese national charged in Michigan in recent weeks, following Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu’s alleged attempt to smuggle Fusarium graminearum, a fungus that poses serious risks to cereal crops and livestock.
  • The University of Michigan has confirmed its cooperation with federal investigators and condemned any actions that threaten public health or national security.
  • FBI Director Kash Patel characterized the cases as part of a broader effort by the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate U.S. research institutions and endanger America’s food supply.