DETROIT, MI – On Tuesday, June 3rd, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that two Chinese nationals have been charged with allegedly smuggling a fungus called “Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon,” into the United States as part of their research, some of which was done at the University of Michigan.
The suspects, 33-year-old Yunqing Jian and 34-year-old Zunong Liu, both citizens of the Peoples Republic of China, were allegedly receiving Chinese government funding for their research, according to ABC7. Fusarium graminearum is a “noxious fungus that can cause head blight, a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year,” a press release from the DOJ states. “Fusarium graminearum’s toxins cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock.”
“The complaint also alleges that Jians electronics contain information describing her membership in and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. It is further alleged that 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 America — through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport — so that he could conduct research on it at the laboratory at the University of Michigan where his girlfriend, Jian, worked,” according to DOJ officials.
“Today’s criminal charges levied upon Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu are indicative of CBPs critical role in protecting the American people from biological threats that could devastate our agricultural economy and cause harm to humans; especially when it involves a researcher from a major university tampering to clandestinely bring potentially harmful biological materials into the United States,” U.S. Custom and Border Protection, Direction of Field Operations Marty C. Raybon said.
“The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals, including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party, are of the gravest national security concerns. These two aliens have been charged with smuggling a fungus that has been described as a potential argoterrorism weapon into the heartland of America, where they apparently intended to use a University of Michigan laboratory to further their scheme,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgan said.
Jian appeared in federal court in Detroit on Tuesday afternoon for her initial appearance, according to the DOJ, andThe FBI and CBP continue to investigate this case.
