By Steve Neavling
A University of Michigan researcher and her boyfriend have been charged with smuggling a dangerous agricultural pathogen into the U.S., according to federal court records unsealed Tuesday.
Yunqing Jian, 33, a postdoctoral fellow at U-M, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, face multiple federal charges, including smuggling and making false statements, NBC News reports. Liu, who is still at large, was stopped at Detroit Metro Airport in July, where border agents allegedly found a fungus in his backpack that can destroy crops and produce toxins harmful to humans and animals.
The pathogen, Fusarium graminearum, was hidden in four baggies stuffed into a wad of tissues, authorities say.
Jian and Liu previously studied the fungus in China. Jian has worked in U-M’s Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Lab since 2023. According to the complaint, Liu admitted he snuck the samples into his bag to avoid detection and said he planned to continue his research in the U.S.
While Jian denied any involvement, investigators say messages between the two from 2022 show them discussing past efforts to smuggle seeds into the country.
“Just put it in your shoes,” Jian wrote in one WeChat exchange.
At a hearing Tuesday, a federal judge ordered Jian held without bond, citing her as a flight risk. Liu was denied entry into the country and has not been taken into custody.
The FBI’s Counterintelligence Division is leading the investigation.
U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon called the case a serious national security concern and said Liu is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.
U-M said it is cooperating with the investigation and has not received Chinese government funding for any related research.
The Chinese government said it was unaware of the case but expects citizens abroad to obey local laws.
