DETROIT (WWJ) -- Two Chinese nationals have been charged for allegedly smuggling a dangerous biological pathogen into the U.S. as part of their work at a University of Michigan laboratory.
The U.S. Justice Department said the pair smuggled in a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a "potential agro-terrorism weapon" that causes "head blight" — a disease of wheat, barley, maize and rice — which is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year.
Its toxins cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock, according to federal authorities.
Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, who are both citizens of the People’s Republic of China, have been charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud, according to announced U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr.
According to the complaint, Jian received Chinese government funding for her work on this pathogen in China. The complaint also alleges that Jian’s electronics contain information describing her membership in, and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party.
It's also alleged that Jian’s boyfriend, Liu, works at a Chinese university where he conducts research on the same pathogen.
The feds say eventually admitted to smuggling the fungus through through Metro Airport so that he could conduct research on it at U-M lab where his girlfriend worked.
“The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals — including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party — are of the gravest national security concerns," Gorgon said, in a statement. "These two aliens have been charged with smuggling a fungus that has been described as a ‘potential agroterrorism weapon’ into in the heartland of America, where they apparently intended to use a University of Michigan laboratory to further their scheme.”
Jian was scheduled to appear in federal court in Detroit on Tuesday.