A Chinese academic has found herself in legal hot water after being apprehended on allegations of attempting to smuggle biological materials into the United States from Wuhan.
Chengxuan Han was taken into custody shortly after her arrival at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on a flight originating from Shanghai. She faces charges related to the illicit importation of goods into the country.
As reported by One America News, court documents reveal that border officials intercepted four packages sent by Han, which contained biological substances associated with roundworms. These parcels, dispatched in 2024 and 2025, were directed to individuals connected with a laboratory at the University of Michigan.
The criminal filings further indicate that Han misled officers by denying any involvement in sending packages to the Michigan lab and falsely claimed the parcels contained plastic cups rather than petri dishes.
Han, a Ph.D. student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, eventually confessed to shipping biological materials to the lab as part of her research. Authorities also uncovered that Han had erased the contents of her electronic device three days prior to her arrival in the United States.
"The alleged smuggling of biological materials by Chengxuan Han is a direct threat to public safety and national security, and it severely compromises the integrity of our nations research institutions," stated Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. He commended the FBI Detroit Counterintelligence Task Force, U.S. Customs and Border Protections Office of Field Operations, and ICE Homeland Security Investigations Detroit for their collaborative efforts.
"The FBI in Michigan will aggressively pursue anyone who seeks to harm our country and will deploy every available resource to defend the United States and protect our communities," Gibson added.
Court records also disclose that Han had been denied a visa to enter the U.S. on two occasions in March. During one visa application process, Han reportedly struggled to provide clear answers to basic questions regarding her personal details and research. Despite these challenges, an offer letter from the University of Michigan extended an invitation to Han to join the lab as a visiting scholar.
In a related development, FBI Director Kash Patel recently announced the formal charging of two Chinese nationals accused of smuggling a "dangerous biological pathogen" into the United States, purportedly for research purposes at the University of Michigan laboratory. This incident underscores the ongoing concerns about national security and the integrity of research institutions in the face of potential foreign threats.
The case of Chengxuan Han serves as a stark reminder of the vigilance required to safeguard the nation's borders and protect its scientific community from external risks.
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