Federal officials on Monday identified a ninth University of Michigan scholar from China tied to alleged crimes in the state following an arrest at the Detroit airport the day prior.
For a second week in a row, federal agents arrested a Chinese national for efforts to smuggle biological materials into the U.S., the latest in a series of alleged crimes involving Chinese UM students dating back to 2023.
The arrest on Sunday involved Chengxuan Han, who allegedly mailed packages believed to contain biological samples of round worms between September 2024 and March to the UM Professional Laboratory where she was invited to work, The Detroit News reports.
“The alleged smuggling of biological materials by this alien from a science and technology university in Wuhan, China—to be used at a University of Michigan laboratory—is part of an alarming pattern that threatens our security,” U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon, Jr. said in a statement. “The American taxpayer should not be underwriting a PRC-based smuggling operation at one of our crucial public institutions.”
Han, a Chinese citizen pursuing a PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, “sent four packages to the United States from the (People’s Republic of China) containing concealed biological material” addressed to individuals associated with the UM lab, according to a news release.
“All four packages reportedly were manifested improperly and lacked the correct documentation for importation,” WDIV reports. “One package was listed during shipping as plastic plates but allegedly contained eight petri dishes with biological materials. Another package reportedly had an envelope with a handwritten note hidden within the pages of a book.”
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest on his X feed.
Yesterday, @FBIDetroit arrested a second Chinese national on charges of smuggling biological materials into the U.S. and lying to federal agents.
This individual is Chengxuan Han, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China and a Ph.D. student in Wuhan, China. Han is the third… pic.twitter.com/TE4tJgtJQi
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) June 9, 2025
“The FBI has zero tolerance for those who violate federal law and remains unwavering in our mission to protect the American people,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “The 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’s research institutions…. 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.”
When Han arrived at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on a J1 visa on Sunday, Customs and Border Protection agents questioned her about the packages and reviewed her electronic device during a border inspection, finding data on the device had been deleted three days prior to her departure
Han was then interviewed by the FBI and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement investigators, when she “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,” the release read.
Han was ultimately charged with smuggling goods into the United States and providing false statements to federal officials, with a hearing scheduled for Monday in a Detroit federal court.
“The FBI has zero tolerance for those who violate federal law and remains unwavering in our mission to protect the American people,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “The 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’s research institutions.”
The arrest followed less than a week after Gorgon announced charges of smuggling, false statements, and visa fraud against UM researcher Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, both Chinese nationals.
“The FBI arrested Jian in connection with allegations related to Jian’s and Liu’s smuggling into America a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon,” according to the attorney’s office. “This noxious fungus causes ‘head blight,’ a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year.
Liu, a researcher at Zhejiang University in China, attempted to smuggle multiple samples of the fugus through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport during a trip on a tourist visa in July 2024 without a permit for the pathogen, according to the affidavit cited by CNN.
“When Customs and Border Protection officers questioned Liu, he made false statements to CBP officers about the purpose of his visit to the United States, and his knowledge of the existence of the biological pathogen in his possession,” an FBI special agent wrote in the criminal filing.
“Ultimately, Liu admitted to smuggling the pathogen and stated that he brought the pathogen into the United States so that he could conduct research on it at a laboratory at the University of Michigan where his girlfriend, Jian, worked,” the affidavit read, according to The Detroit News.
Jian, a citizen of China with a doctorate degree in plant pathogens from Zhejiang University, previously received research funding from a Chinese foundation backed by the Chinese government. She also worked at a Texas university in August 2022, according to authorities.
A search of Jian’s electronic device uncovered a “annual self-assessment form” that included an oath to the CCP, as well as conversations about previous seemingly successful attempts to smuggle biological samples into the United States, the affidavit alleges.
Investigators also searched Liu’s iPhones before sending him back to China, and discovered an article titled “2018 Plant-Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions,” The News reports.
The charges against Liu and Jian, unsealed Tuesday, followed just days after prosecutors on Friday unsealed another criminal case against a Chinese student at the University of Michigan.
That case involves Haoxiang Gao, 20, who cast an illegal ballot in October that was counted in the 2024 election. Gao surrendered a Chinese passport to face state charges, but used a second passport to board a plane to Shanghai in January, according to the federal criminal complaint cited by The Detroit News.
Han’s arrest marks at least the third FBI counterintelligence investigation into UM students from China in the last year, with the others involving the fungus smugglers and federal charges filed in October against five UM graduates from China for spying on Camp Grayling National Guard Base during a military training with Taiwanese soldiers in 2023.
Authorities allege the group was found with cameras near military vehicles, tents and classified communications equipment as soldiers conducted Northern Strike, one of the largest training exercises in the U.S.
The Chinese nationals charged in that case left the country following graduation in May 2024, but have outstanding arrest warrants in the U.S.
Jian, meanwhile, is being held without bond in anticipation of a detention hearing in federal court on Friday, while Liu returned to China.
A UM spokesman did not return a request for comment from The Detroit News, but data from the university’s International Center shows 4,046 students from China studied at UM last year.
President Donald Trump’s administration announced in late May it’s working to “aggressively revoke visas” for Chinese students with connections to the Chinese Communist Party “or studying in critical fields,” according to CNN.
The cases in Michigan and others elsewhere have fueled both state legislation to crack down on Chinese influence in the Great Lakes State, as well as public opposition to economic development deals with companies linked to the CCP.
The latter includes $715 million in taxpayer subsidies for Gotion, Inc. that were secretly negotiated by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and select lawmakers to bring an EV battery component plant to Mecosta County.
That deal remains in legal limbo with local officials and residents in strong opposition, while Republican lawmakers continue to advocate against the company in Congress.
