Chinese Researchers Charged with Smuggling Biological Samples from Wuhan to U.S.
Three Chinese researchers from a University of Michigan laboratory have been charged with smuggling biological materials from China into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The defendants — Xu Bai, 28; Fengfan Zhang, 27; and Zhiyong Zhang, 30 — were visiting researchers on J-1 visas in the lab of Professor Xianzhong “Shawn” Xu. Prosecutors say Bai and F. Zhang conspired to smuggle biological samples related to roundworms, while Z. Zhang lied to customs officials during an investigation.
The shipments, allegedly sent by Chengxuan Han, a Chinese Ph.D. student from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, were concealed and delivered to the U.S. in 2023 and 2024. Han, who later joined the Xu lab, pleaded no contest to smuggling and false statement charges, was sentenced, and subsequently deported.
Following Han’s arrest, the University of Michigan launched an internal review, but Bai, F. Zhang, and Z. Zhang refused to cooperate or attend required meetings. They were terminated from their positions and later detained by federal agents at JFK Airport while attempting to board a flight to China on Oct. 16.
“Smuggling biological materials under the guise of research is a serious crime that endangers America’s national and agricultural security,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. added that the case fits a “long and alarming pattern” of criminal activity involving Chinese nationals “using academic institutions as cover.”
Federal authorities say the case underscores growing concerns about foreign infiltration of U.S. research programs and biological material trafficking tied to China.
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