EXCLUSIVE – FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital that the case involving two Chinese nationals who were charged Tuesday with allegedly smuggling a “dangerous biological pathogen” into the U.S. to study at the University of Michigan laboratory demonstrates a serious national security threat to America’s food supply.
“This case is a sobering reminder that the Chinese Communist Party continues to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate our institutions and target our food supply, an act that could cripple our economy and endanger American lives,” Patel told Fox in a statement. “Smuggling a known agroterrorism agent into the U.S. is not just a violation of law, it’s a direct threat to national security. I commend the FBI Detroit Division and our partners at CBP for stopping this biological threat before it could do real damage.”
University of Michigan research fellow Yunqing Jian and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu – both citizens of the People’s Republic of China – have been charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan announced Tuesday. The investigation is being conducted by the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
