Chinese national arrested at Detroit Airport for allegedly smuggling biological material
second such case in a week
Washington DC: A Chinese national identified as Chengxuan Han was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Sunday for allegedly smuggling biological material into the United States and providing false information to federal officials. This marks the second such arrest involving Chinese nationals within a week.
According to the FBI, Han, a Ph.D. student from Wuhan, China, had earlier sent four packages from China to individuals affiliated with a laboratory at the University of Michigan. The contents reportedly included biological material related to roundworms, which require a government permit for import.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the arrest in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), stating that Han also allegedly erased data from her electronic device days before her arrival in the US and made false statements about the packages during her questioning at the airport. In a follow-up interview with FBI and ICE HSI agents, Han admitted to both sending the biological materials and misleading authorities 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 said.
Earlier this month, two other Chinese nationals—Yunqing Jian (33) and Zunyong Liu (34)—were charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the US, making false statements, and visa fraud. They allegedly attempted to smuggle a dangerous biological pathogen into the country for research at the same university laboratory.
Investigations into all three cases are ongoing.
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Karnataka bypolls: Over 60 per cent voter turnout in Bagalkot, Davanagere South till 5 pm
Bengaluru (PTI): Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in both Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, where bypolls were held on Thursday.
While the turnout in Bagalkot was 65.68 per cent, it was 63.04 per cent in Davanagere South.
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP aims to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
