Two Chinese nationals have been arrested and charged in a federal criminal complaint for allegedly smuggling a highly dangerous agricultural pathogen into the United States.
Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, both citizens of the People’s Republic of China, face charges of conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, making false statements, and visa fraud, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said on Tuesday.
According to federal prosecutors, Jian and Liu illegally imported Fusarium graminearum, a fungus known to cause head blight, a destructive crop disease affecting wheat, barley, maize, and rice.
The pathogen has been responsible for billions of dollars in crop losses globally and produces mycotoxins that can harm both humans and livestock.
“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.
“The alleged smuggling of this biological agent into an American research institution by foreign nationals is a matter of grave national security concern.”
The fungus was allegedly smuggled into the country via Detroit Metropolitan Airport for use in research at the University of Michigan, where Jian was employed in a laboratory.
Investigators allege that Jian received funding from the Chinese government to support related research and had expressed documented loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Liu, her boyfriend, works at a Chinese university conducting similar pathogen research. While initially denying any involvement, Liu later admitted to bringing the fungus into the US.
Reacting to the arrests, FBI chief Kash Patel issued a stark warning about the broader implications of the case.
“This fungus can cause head blight, a devastating crop disease responsible for billions in losses globally,” said Kash Patel, who confirmed the arrest in a statement. “It poses significant health risks to both humans and livestock.”
