Chinese student arrested for allegedly smuggling undeclared biological materials seen in new mugshot

Fox News

a day ago

Authorities have released a mugshot of the Chinese national accused of smuggling undeclared biological material into the United States.
Chengxuan Han was initially scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday to face charges of smuggling goods into the U.S. and making false statements, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. However, her detention hearing was cut short after her court-appointed attorney requested more time due to "some additional matters pertinent to the issue of bond."
Han is a citizen of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Ph.D. student at Wuhan's College of Life Science and Technology in the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Han is the third Chinese national arrested this month for allegedly smuggling items into the US. University of Michigan post-doctoral research fellow Yunqing Jian and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, were arrested after allegedly bringing an "agroterrorism agent"m into the U.S. to study at a University of Michigan laboratory.
From September 2024 to March 2025, authorities allege Han mailed four packages containing undeclared biological material to individuals working in the University of Michigan's laboratory, according to the criminal complaint.
On Sunday, Han traveled to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Shanghai on a J1 visa and was subjected to an inspection by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.
During the search, Han allegedly told officers she did not mail packages to the laboratory, before eventually admitting she had sent them when pressed by authorities. Han initially told CBP officers the packages contained plastic cups – not petri dishes – and a book, according to court documents.
"Biological samples, such as plasmids, are often placed within a book and manifested only as a book for shipment, as a means of concealment from U.S. Customs," the complaint said.
Han's attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Upon being confronted by officials, Han allegedly confessed to sending packages containing roundworm-related biomaterials. CBP officers also discovered the content on Han's electronic devices had been deleted three days before she arrived in the U.S.
Following the inspection, the FBI and Homeland Security officials spoke with Han. During the conversation, Han allegedly admitted to previously making false statements to CBP officers and acknowledged she sent the packages.
"The FBI has zero tolerance for those who violate federal law and remains unwavering in our mission to protect the American people," Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said in a statement. "The alleged smuggling of biological materials by Chengxuan Han is a direct threat to public safety and national security, and it severely compromises the integrity of our nation's research institutions."
The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
"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," United States Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a statement. "The American taxpayer should not be underwriting a PRC-based smuggling operation at one of our crucial public institutions."
Han is scheduled to appear in court for a detention hearing on June 13.
Han's arrest came one day before 42-year-old Shenghua Wen pleaded guilty to federal charges after authorities revealed he spent years exporting ammunition, firearms and other military items to North Korea, in coordination with North Korean government officials.
Wen, a Chinese citizen, came to the U.S. in 2012 and remained in the country illegally despite his student visa expiring the following year.
Prior to moving to the U.S., Wen met with officials from North Korea's government at the country's embassy in China, where he was directed to obtain the items on behalf of North Korea.
Nearly 10 years later, North Korean government officials directed Wen via an online messaging app to procure firearms and sensitive technology to be smuggled to North Korea through China.
In 2023, Wen shipped at least three containers of firearms from a California port to China, with North Korea as the ultimate destination, by filing false export information to conceal the contents of the containers.
Wen used money from a North Korean contact to purchase many of the firearms in Texas before driving them back to California to be shipped, according to the DOJ.
By December 2023, one of the shipments departed the Port of Long Beach and arrived in Hong Kong one month later, with it eventually arriving in North Korea.
Wen also obtained sensitive technology to send to North Korea, according to prosecutors. The technology consisted of a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive or interfering transmissions and a chemical threat identification device.
He also looked to acquire a civilian airplane engine and thermal imaging system to be mounted on a drone or aircraft for target identification.
The entire scheme cost North Korean officials approximately $2 million in wire transfers to Wen, with the funds being used to procure firearms and other goods for the government.
Wen faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for both charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 18.