Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, false statements, and visa fraud, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said in a statement.
The Justice Department said the pair conspired to smuggle a fungus called Fusarium graminearum into the United States that causes “head blight,“ a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice.
It causes vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock, it said.
“(Liu) first lied but then admitted to smuggling Fusarium graminearum into America... so that he could conduct research on it at the laboratory at the University of Michigan where his girlfriend, Jian, worked,“ the Justice Department said.
“These two aliens have been charged with smuggling a fungus that has been described as a ‘potential agroterrorism weapon’ into the heartland of America, where they apparently intended to use a University of Michigan laboratory to further their scheme,“ Gorgon said.
“The Chinese government has always required Chinese citizens overseas to strictly abide by local laws and regulations, and at the same time safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens overseas in accordance with the law,“ he said.
Kseniia Petrova, a scientist from Russia at Harvard, is facing potential deportation after she failed to declare biological samples in her luggage upon returning from a trip to Paris.
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