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Third Chinese Researcher Arrested for Smuggling Biological Materials to University of Michigan

Her detention highlights an ongoing FBI-led crackdown on unpermitted imports of biological agents linked to Chinese research networks.

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

  • Chengxuan Han was taken into custody at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on June 8 after authorities allege she shipped four undeclared packages containing roundworm-related specimens to a University of Michigan laboratory between September 2024 and March 2025.
  • Court filings state that Han made false statements to Customs and Border Protection officers about the packages and wiped her electronic device days before her arrival.
  • Her arrest follows charges against Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu, who are accused of conspiring to smuggle a toxic fungus, Fusarium graminearum, for research at the same institution.
  • The Justice Department and FBI describe the smuggling as a breach of permit regulations that raises national security and agricultural terrorism concerns tied to CCP efforts to infiltrate U.S. research centers.
  • Han remains in custody awaiting a bond hearing as federal investigators continue probing potential accomplices and reinforcing controls on imported biological materials.