{"id":192297,"date":"2025-06-11T09:18:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=192297"},"modified":"2025-06-11T09:18:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:18:30","slug":"alien-from-wuhan-china-charged-with-making-false-statements-and-smuggling-biological-materials-into-the-u-s-for-her-work-at-a-university-of-michigan-laboratory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=192297","title":{"rendered":"Alien from Wuhan, China, Charged with Making False Statements and Smuggling Biological Materials into the U.S. for Her Work at a University of Michigan Laboratory"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Detroit, MI&#8230;Chengxuan HAN, a citizen of the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC), was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with smuggling goods into the United States and false statements, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/FBILogo.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/FBILogo.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"211\" height=\"220\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-147378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/FBILogo.png 211w, https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/FBILogo-30x30.png 30w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division, Acting Director of Field Operations John Nowak, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement\u2019s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Detroit field office.<\/p>\n<p>According to the complaint, Han is a citizen of the PRC who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from the College of Life Science and Technology in the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, PRC. In 2024 and 2025, Han sent four packages to the United States from the PRC containing concealed biological material. These packages were addressed to individuals associated with a laboratory at the University of Michigan. On June 8, 2025, Han arrived at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on a J1 visa. Customs and Border Protection officers conducted an inspection of Han, during which Han made false statements about the packages and the biological materials she had previously shipped to the United States. CBP officers also found that the content of Han\u2019s electronic device had been deleted three days prior to her arrival in the United States. At the conclusion of the border inspection, Han was interviewed by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and ICE HSI. During this interview, Han admitted to sending the packages, admitted that the packages contained biological material related to round worms, and admitted to making false statements to the CBP officers during her inspection.<\/p>\n<p>A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Trial cannot be held on felony charges in a complaint. When the investigation is completed, a determination will be made whether to seek a felony indictment.<\/p>\n<p>United States Attorney Gorgon stated: \u201cThe alleged smuggling of biological materials by this alien from a science and technology university in Wuhan, China\u2014to be used at a University of Michigan laboratory\u2014is part of an alarming pattern that threatens our security. The American taxpayer should not be underwriting a PRC-based smuggling operation at one of our crucial public institutions.\u201d   <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe FBI has zero tolerance for those who violate federal law and remains unwavering in our mission to protect the American people,\u201d said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. \u201cThe alleged smuggling of biological materials by Chengxuan Han is a direct threat to public safety and national security, and it severely compromises the integrity of our nation\u2019s research institutions. I applaud the relentless efforts of the FBI Detroit Counterintelligence Task Force, working in close coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection\u2019s Office of Field Operations and ICE Homeland Security Investigations Detroit. The FBI in Michigan will aggressively pursue anyone who seeks to harm our country and will deploy every available resource to defend the United States and protect our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe guidelines for importing biological materials into the U.S. for research purposes are stringent, but clear, and actions like this undermine the legitimate work of other visiting scholars,\u201d said CBP Acting Director of Field Operations John Nowak. \u201cWe will not tolerate the smuggling of regulated biological materials through our ports of entry, and this interdiction is another recent example of our commitment\u2014along with that of our law enforcement partners\u2014to preventing potentially dangerous goods from harming the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cICE HSI is proud to work with our partners at the FBI and CBP to keep Americans and Michiganders safe from biological threats,\u201d said ICE HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey. \u201cThis case should serve as a reminder that multiple law enforcement agencies are working around the clock to provide for our shared national security from malicious foreign actors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The FBI, CBP and ICE HSI are investigating this case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Detroit, MI&#8230;Chengxuan HAN, a citizen of the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC), was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with smuggling goods into the United States and false statements, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson, Federal Bureau of Investigation, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":147378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,16,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-law-enforcement","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/FBILogo.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=192297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":192298,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192297\/revisions\/192298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/147378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=192297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=192297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=192297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}