A Chinese scientist and Ph.d. student from Wuhan, of alleged COVID-19 origin, has been arrested by US officials on charges of smuggling illegal biological materials into the United States. The smuggled items related to parasitic roundworms. He also gave the wrong information about the shipments to federal authorities.
The arrested Ph.d. student and scientist, identified as Chengxuan Han, a researcher at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, was taken into custody by the FBI upon arrival at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on June 8. Federal prosecutors said Han faces charges of smuggling illegal items into the country and making false statements.
Also Read | Trump's travel ban takes effect amid growing chaos over immigration enforcement.
"Yesterday, Detroit arrested a second Chinese national on charges of smuggling biological materials into the US and lying to federal agents," infromed FBI director Kash Patel on X (formerly Twitter).
"This individual is Chengxuan Han, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China and a Ph.D. student in Wuhan, China. Han is the third PRC-connected individual charged on similar allegations in recent days," he further wrote.
The chargesheet filed alleges that Han sent four packages from China to a person at a University of Michigan lab, each containing biological material related to roundworms—a classified material that requires special import permits under US law. Authorities say one of the packages was concealed inside a book.
Han allegedly denied having packages and did not provide correct information about the contents after landing at Detroit Airport. He also tried to erase data from his electronic devices just days before her arrival. "Upon arriving at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on June 8, Han allegedly made false statements to federal officials regarding the packages she had previously mailed -- and had erased her electronic device just days prior," Patel stated.
"In a follow-up interview, Han admitted to sending the packages and lying about their contents." "This case is part of a broader effort from the FBI and our federal partners to heavily crack down on similar pathogen smuggling operations, as the CCP works relentlessly to undermine America’s research institutions," Patel wrote.