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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Gaurav Gogoi criticises Himanta Sarma over infiltration issues, accuses him of playing politics
New Delhi: Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has sharply criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, questioning his government’s handling of the infiltration issue despite the BJP's nearly decade-long rule in the state.
Gogoi raised concerns over the state's border security under the current regime, asking, “If infiltrators are still entering Assam after 10 years of BJP rule, who is responsible?”
He pointed out the BJP-led government’s failure to effectively curb illegal immigration. “It is the duty of both the Assam government and the central government to prevent illegal migration. Instead of taking concrete action, the government is busy playing politics,” news agency ANI quoted Gogoi as saying.
He emphasised that the Congress party's position is clear: no illegal Bangladeshi nationals should be allowed to stay in Assam.
Gogoi predicted that Sarma’s politics of polarisation, which had failed in Jharkhand, would not yield success in Assam either.
