A Chinese researcher accused of plotting with her boyfriend to smuggle a weapon of ‘agroterrorism’ into the United States may have successfully hidden pathogens in her shoe on a previous trip.
University of Michigan postdoctoral fellow Yunqing Jian, 33, has been charged alongside Zunyong Liu, 34, for the sinister plot allegedly tied to the Chinese Communist Party.
Liu arrived in the United States from China in July 2024 carrying four small baggies of Fusarium graminearum – a product responsible for causing billions of dollars worth of damage to livestock, wheat, barley, maize and rice globally each year.
FBI boss Kash Patel issued a chilling warning after the first pictures emerged of Jian on Tuesday evening.
‘This case is a sobering reminder that the CCP[Chinese Communist Party] is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply,’ he said.
If successful, the plot ‘would have grave consequences… putting American lives and our economy at serious risk.’
The duo have been charged with conspiracy, smuggling, making false statements and visa fraud.
In a horrifying twist, the criminal complaint reveals that Jian may have been successful in smuggling pathogens into the United States years earlier.
Hellbound and Down 