Two Chinese citizens have been apprehended and indicted in a federal criminal complaint for reportedly bringing a highly hazardous agricultural pathogen into the United States.
Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, both nationals of the People’s Republic of China, have been charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, making false statements, and visa fraud, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan on Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors state that Jian and Liu unlawfully brought in Fusarium graminearum, a fungus recognized for causing head blight, a harmful agricultural disease that impacts wheat, barley, maize, and rice.
Pathogen causes crop losses and health risks
The pathogen has caused billions in crop losses worldwide and generates mycotoxins that are detrimental to both humans and animals.
“This case involves a fungus that poses a serious risk to global food security and public health,” said Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
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Fungus smuggled through Detroit airport to University of Michigan
The fungus was reportedly brought into the country through Detroit Metropolitan Airport for research purposes at the University of Michigan, where Jian worked in a lab.
Investigators claim that Jian obtained funding from the Chinese government to aid relevant research and had shown documented allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Liu, her partner, is employed at a Chinese university where he conducts research on similar pathogens. Although Liu initially denied any connection, he later confessed to smuggling the fungus into the US.
In response to the arrests, FBI head Kash Patel delivered a serious warning regarding the wider consequences of the case.
