In roundworms smuggling case, Chinese citizen to be held in detention for now
A Chinese citizen accused of bringing biological materials related to roundworms into the country for her work at a University of Michigan laboratory has agreed to remain in federal custody.
Chengxuan Han is charged with smuggling goods into the United States and making false statements. She appeared in U.S. District Court in Detroit on June 13, two days after an initial detention hearing was adjourned so her attorneys could have more time to review material regarding issues pertinent to bond. Han has been detained since she made an initial appearance June 9.
One of her attorneys, Sara Garber, told the court that "(t)his is a constantly evolving situation involving a large number of factors" including the criminal charges, implications on Han's professional career, considerations in the U.S. and China, a language barrier and a need for an interpreter.
"This situation is fluid. My client consents to detention without prejudice to remain in federal custody at this time," Garber told the court. "We have been working diligently on this matter."
Garber had no additional comment after the hearing. A preliminary exam is set for June 30.
Han appeared in court wearing an orange jumper with Sanilac County written on the back. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore thin eyeglasses. Her hands were handcuffed in front of her.
Han had a Mandarin Chinese interpreter, but spoke some English when answering yes or no questions posed by Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Stafford. Han put a tissue to her nose toward the end of the hearing and could be heard sniffling.
She is pursing a doctoral degree from the College of Life Science and Technology in the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, according to a court filing.
More: Detention hearing adjourned for Chinese citizen accused in fungus smuggling case
Feds: Chinese citizens charged with smuggling harmful fungus for research at U-M
From September 2024 to March, the records indicated, she was listed as the sender of four packages of concealed or mis-manifested biological material addressed to two people associated with a lab at U-M. The packages did not contain the correct documentation and were not imported per U.S. Department of Agriculture or U.S. Customs and Border Protection regulations, according to an affidavit.
Han arrived at Detroit Metro Airport from Shanghai on a J-1 visa June 8 and customs officers conducted an inspection and interview. She denied sending the packages to members of the lab, according to the affidavit, but when pressed, admitted to shipping them, with the materials from her research lab at the Chinese university. It indicated the packages contained plasmids and petri dishes of C. elegans (nematode worms).In a separate case earlier this month, Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, were charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements and visa fraud. They are accused of smuggling a fungus that causes a disease in wheat, barley, maize and rice so that Liu could research the pathogen at a U-M lab where Jian works.
Jian agreed June 13 to be detained during a detention hearing in federal court. Liu is accused of smuggling the fungus, identified as Fusarium graminearum, into the country at the airport in clear plastic baggies in his backpack July 27. Customs officers denied him entry and processed him for expedited removal back to China, according to an affidavit.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: In roundworms smuggling case, Chinese citizen to be held in detention
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