Washington DC: Another Chinese national was arrested on Sunday for allegedly smuggling biological material in the United States. It is the second such case in a week. The accused is reportedly identified as a scientist. The Chinese national was arrested at the Detroit airport.
Months ago, the arrested individual, Chengxuan Han, allegedly shipped biological material to the staff at a laboratory at the University of Michigan, as per the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In a court filing, the FBI said that the material was related to certain worms and that it required a government permit, as reported in News18. FBI Director Kash Patel also confirmed the development on its official X handle.
"Yesterday, @FBIDetroit arrested a second Chinese national on charges of smuggling biological materials into the U.S. and lying to federal agents. This individual is Chengxuan Han, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China and a Ph.D. student in Wuhan, China. Han is the third PRC connected individual charged on similar allegations in recent days," Patel wrote.
"Han is alleged to have sent four packages to the U.S. from China containing a biological material related to round worms — addressed to individuals associated with a lab at the University of Michigan," he added.
Notably, upon arriving at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Sunday, the Chinese national allegedly made false statements to federal officials regarding the packages she had previously mailed. She also reportedly erased her electronic device days before her arrest.
"In a follow up interview with FBI and ICE HSI agents, Han admitted to sending the packages and lying about their contents," the FBI Director said.
"This case is part of a broader effort from the FBI and our federal partners to heavily crack down on similar pathogeon smuggling operations, as the CCP works relentlessly to undermine America’s research institutions," he added.
Earlier this month, two Chinese nationals were arrested by the FBOI on charged by the US Department of Justice for allegedly smuggling a dangerous biological pathogen into the United States for research purposes at the University of Michigan Laboratory.
According to the Justice Department release, Yunqing Jian (33) and Zunyong Liu (34) were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, making false statements, and visa fraud.
