FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday warned against a “serious national security threat” after two Chinese nationals were arrested in the US for allegedly smuggling a “dangerous biological pathogen” into the country to study at the University of Michigan laboratory.
The FBI Director’s concern came after two Chinese nationals were arrested for smuggling a dangerous “biological pathogen” that had the potential to be used as an agricultural terrorism weapon into the United States for research.
“This case is a sobering reminder that the Chinese Communist Party continues to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate our institutions and target our food supply, an act that could cripple our economy and endanger American lives,” Patel was quoted as saying
“Smuggling a known agroterrorism agent into the U.S. is not just a violation of law, it’s a direct threat to national security. I commend the FBI Detroit Division and our partners at CBP for stopping this biological threat before it could do real damage,” he added.
Chinese Nationals Charged With Smuggling ‘Agroterrorism Agent’ Into US
The US Department of Justice on Tuesday identified the pathogen as Fusarium graminearum, a fungus, classified in scientific literature as a potential ‘agroterrorism weapon’.
In a statement, it said that the fungus causes “head blight” in some crops and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses globally each year.
According to an FBI criminal complaint, Zunyong Liu, 34, a researcher currently in China, brought the fungus into the United States while visiting his girlfriend, Yunqing Jian, 33, in July 2024. He admitted to smuggling in the fungus so he could conduct research on it at a University of Michigan laboratory where his girlfriend worked, according to the complaint.
Both individuals have been charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud.
