Detroit, Michigan — A Chinese researcher arrested in Michigan for smuggling biological materials pleaded guilty Wednesday and will be released with no additional jail time beyond the five months she has already served. The case, described by the judge as “very strange,” involved what authorities said was the illegal transport of a crop-infecting fungus into the United States.
Federal investigators said 33-year-old Yunqing Jian, a temporary researcher at a University of Michigan laboratory, conspired with her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, to bring samples of Fusarium graminearum into the country. The fungus can infect crops such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Liu was previously stopped at Detroit Metro Airport in 2024 carrying small samples. U.S. authorities say the university had no permit for the pathogen, which is strictly regulated.
Prosecutors argued the unauthorized material carried the potential for “devastating harm,” though they offered no specific evidence the pair intended damage. A plant pathology expert who reviewed the case for the defense said there was no risk to U.S. agriculture, noting that the strain is already common in American fields and that Liu likely sought access to a unique microscope at the lab.
Jian apologized in court, saying pressure to produce research results contributed to her decisions. She admitted asking a colleague in China to mail biological samples hidden inside a book, which federal agents intercepted. In exchange for her guilty plea to smuggling and making false statements, prosecutors dropped a conspiracy charge. Jian will now be deported. Liu remains in China and is unlikely to face U.S. prosecution.
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