Pathogen smuggled into U.S.
Two Chinese nationals, including a scholar at the University of Michigan, were arrested for allegedly smuggling a pathogen into the U.S. which is known to be destructive to corn, wheat, rice and barley crops, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on June 2.
Yunqing Jian, age 33, and Zunyong Liu, age 34, both citizens of the People’s Republic of China, were charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., false statements and visa fraud, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The U.S. Attorney Office in Detroit said in a news release on June 3 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Jian in connection with the pair’s alleged smuggling into the U.S. of a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon.
The fungus is known to cause head blight, a disease of wheat, barley, corn and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year. Fusarium graminearum’s toxins cause vomiting, liver damage and reproductive defects in humans and livestock.
The complaint
The complaint filed in federal court, however, does not allege the couple had plans to unleash the pathogen on U.S. farms.
According to the complaint, Jian received Chinese government funding for her work on the pathogen in China.
The complaint alleges Jian’s electronics contain information describing her membership in and “loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party” (CCP).
It is further alleged Jian’s boyfriend Liu works at a Chinese university where he conducts research on the same pathogen and that he first lied but then admitted to smuggling Fusarium graminearum into the U.S. through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, so he could conduct research on the pathogen at the laboratory at the University of Michigan (UM) where his girlfriend Jian worked.
It wasn’t the first time Jian allegedly smuggled into the U.S., according to the complaint, as it details another instance in August 2022.
Jian was scheduled for her first appearance in federal court in Detroit on June 3.
A single smuggling charge comes with up to 20 years in prison.
More information
On July 27, 2024 Liu arrived at the Detroit airport from Shanghai and was found to have Fusarium graminearum samples concealed in tissues in his backpack, according to the complaint.
Liu initially denied knowledge of the materials but later admitted to smuggling them to conduct research at the UM’s Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Laboratory where his girlfriend worked.
Jian is a postdoctoral researcher at the UM and denied knowledge of Liu’s smuggling, according to the complaint.
“FBI agents obtained and executed a federal search warrant for the electronically stored information contained in Liu’s electronic devices. FBI agents found WeChat messages between Liu and Jian in the months and days prior to Liu’s smuggling of Fusarium graminearum on July 27, 2024,” the complaint said.
Fusarium graminearum is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year, the complaint said. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) website, the agency requires a permit to import the pathogen.
“According to records maintained by USDA, Jian and Liu have never applied for, nor have they been issued, a permit to import Fusarium graminearum into the U.S.,” the complaint said.
The complaint further noted WeChat messages between the couple indicate Jian was aware of Liu’s samples and her effort to mislead investigators about their presence in the UM laboratory.
U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. said the fungus the couple allegedly was working on posed a threat to U.S. agriculture.
“The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals – including a loyal member of the CCP – 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 potential agriterrorism weapons into the heartland of America, where they apparently intended to use a UM laboratory to further their scheme.”
Todd Neeley is an environmental editor for DTN. This article was originally published in Progressive Farmer on June 3.
