U.S. charges Chinese couple with smuggling fungus that could be 'potential agroterrorism weapon'

Two Chinese nationals were charged Tuesday with conspiracy to smuggle into the United States a fungus with potential use as a terror weapon against American agriculture, the U.S. attorney in Detroit announced in a statement.

Jian Yunqing, 33, and Liu Zunyong, 34, both from China, were also charged in a criminal complaint with making false statements and visa fraud.

Ms. Jian was arrested by the FBI for her purported role in attempting to smuggle in the fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which is classified in scientific studies as “a potential agroterrorism weapon,” the statement said.

Both were paid by the Chinese government and studied plant pathogens at universities, according to court documents.

Mr. Liu was caught with the fungus in July and his samples were seized along with electronic devices. He was then denied entry and processed for removal back to China, according to court papers.

He left the country in April 2024 after having worked at a University of Michigan laboratory.

The FBI then examined the samples and discovered they contained Fusarium graminearum.

“The alleged actions of these Chinese nationals — including a loyal member of the Chinese Communist Party — are of the gravest national security concerns,” said Jerome F. Gorgon Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in announcing the charges.

“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,” he said.

A detention hearing for Ms. Jian, currently in custody, is scheduled for Thursday in federal court.

A lawyer for Ms. Jian could not be reached for comment.

An FBI complaint in the case suggests one of the suspects was engaged in secret biological weapons work.

A document found on the iPhone of Mr. Liu contained an article titled “2018 Plant-Pathogen Warfare under Changing Climate Conditions.”

“Open-source research revealed that this article references Fusarium graminearum as an example of a destructive disease and pathogen for crops,” the complaint states.

According to the complaint, Ms. Jian conducted post-doctoral research, including “on a particular biological pathogen that can cause devastating diseases in crops.”

A search of her cell phone revealed a form “describing her membership and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party,” the complaint said.

Mr. Liu was described in the complaint as Ms. Jian’s boyfriend and also worked on the same biological pathogen.

In July, Mr. Liu tried to smuggle the biological pathogen into the United States through Detroit Metropolitan Airport and lied to Customs and Border Protection Officers who questioned him about the purpose of his U.S. visit, the complaint states.

Mr. Liu then stated that he was trying to smuggle the pathogen into the country for research at a University of Michigan laboratory where Mr. Jian worked.

Ms. Jian told investigators she was unaware of the pathogen smuggling, but a review of electronic communications between the couple revealed they discussed bringing the biological materials into the U.S.

“Electronic evidence also shows that Jian has been involved in smuggling packages of biological material into the United States on prior occasions,” the complaint said.

According to an article published in the journal Food Security and referred to in the Justice Department statement, Fusarium graminearum is classified as a potential agroterrorism weapon that could be used for targeting food crops.

“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,” the statement said. “Fusarium graminearum’s toxins cause vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock.”

According to the complaint, Ms. Jian applied for J1 U.S visa in 2021 and began working in a laboratory at an unidentified Texas university from August 2022 to August 2023.

She then went to work at the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction (MPMI) Laboratory at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she continues to be employed.

Mr. Liu came to the U.S. on a tourist visa in July from Shanghai and told authorities he planned to visit his girlfriend before returning to China.

A search of his luggage revealed four clear plastic baggies with small clumps of reddish plant material and he stated that he thought someone planted the material in his bag.

He later said the material was the deadly fungus.

“The federal charges announced today against Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu, both residents of the People’s Republic of China, signify a crucial advancement in our efforts to safeguard our communities and uphold national security,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office.

“These individuals exploited their access to laboratory facilities at a local university to engage in the smuggling of biological pathogens, an act that posed an imminent threat to public safety.”

Marty C. Raybon, a director at Custom and Border Protection stated: “Today’s criminal charges levied upon Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu are indicative of CBP’s critical role in protecting the American people from biological threats that could devastate our agricultural economy and cause harm to humans.”

Claris Diaz and Emilian Kavalski, two experts on disruptive technologies, stated in a report that Chinese-made agricultural drones used by American farms could be exploited by Beijing to “unleash biological warfare against crops, annihilating an adversary’s food supply.”

“Such scenarios pose a significant threat to national security, giving China more than one avenue to undermine critical infrastructures by wreaking devastating impacts on food availability, threatening trade and economic resilience, and undermining agricultural systems,” they stated in an article in the online publication War on the Rocks in November.

The smart drones are used by farmers to collect data that helps increase crop yields and have been linked by researchers to the Chinese military.

The problem of Chinese drones used by farmers poses a threat of future biological warfare against crops.

China’s military published a book in 1999 called “Unrestricted Warfare” that calls for using all forms of warfare to win against better-armed adversaries.