The Justice Department (DOJ) on Monday charged a citizen of China with smuggling biological material into the United States and making false statements.

The charges come a week after the DOJ charged two other Chinese researchers with attempting to smuggle a fungus dubbed "Fusarium graminearum," into the U.S., which it claimed scientific research "classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon."

The new case accuses Chinese researcher Chengxuan Han of trying to smuggle packages containing concealed biological material related to round worms into the country by sending multiple packages that contain the material to a lab under the University of Michigan ahead of her arrival on June 8.

Han is getting her PhD from the College of Life Science and Technology at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. 

The Chinese national was arrested on Sunday at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and allegedly made false statements regarding the packages when questioned by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials. She later allegedly admitted to sending the packages to the FBI, and that she lied about the packages to CBP. She also admitted it contained the biological material.

“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.”   

The FBI, CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are investigating the case.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.