(WWJ) The U.S. Attorney's Office has announced another case of biological materials from China being smuggled to a lab at the University of Michigan.
According to federal authorities, Chengxuan Han sent four packages to the United States from China containing "concealed biological material" addressed to people associated with a laboratory at UofM.
According to the complaint, Han is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from the College of Life Science and Technology in the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Wuhan.
On Sunday, she arrived at Detroit Metro Airport, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers questioned her about the packages. According to Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., Han initially lied, but later admitted during an interview with FBI agents to sending the packages containing biological material related to round worms.
This comes after, last week, two other people were accused of smuggling in a dangerous, toxic fungus into the U.S. as part of lab work at the University of Michigan. While it does not appear that the two cases are directly connected, Gorgon said it does indicate a pattern.
“The alleged smuggling of biological materials by this alien from a science and technology university in Wuhan, China — to be used at a University of Michigan laboratory — is part of an alarming pattern that threatens our security. The American taxpayer should not be underwriting a PRC-based smuggling operation at one of our crucial public institutions," Gorgon said, in a statement.
Han was scheduled to appear in federal court in Detroit Monday afternoon.
“The guidelines for importing biological materials into the U.S. for research purposes are stringent, but clear, and actions like this undermine the legitimate work of other visiting scholars,” said CBP Acting Director of Field Operations John Nowak. “We will not tolerate the smuggling of regulated biological materials through our ports of entry, and this interdiction is another recent example of our commitment—along with that of our law enforcement partners—to preventing potentially dangerous goods from harming the American people.”
An investigation by the FBI, CBP and ICE HSI is ongoing.