DETROIT – A citizen of the People’s Republic of China accused of smuggling goods into the United States and was later arrested at Detroit Metro Airport is expected to appear in court.
This case is unrelated to the University of Michigan scholar accused of bringing crop fungus through the airport days prior.
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According to the complaint, Chengxuan Han is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from the College of Life Science and Technology at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, PRC. She is accused of sending four packages from China containing concealed biological material to two individuals who work in a laboratory at the University of Michigan.
All four packages reportedly were manifested improperly and did not contain the correct documentation for them to be imported.
All four packages reportedly were manifested improperly and lacked the correct documentation for importation. One package was listed during shipping as plastic plates but allegedly contained eight petri dishes with biological materials. Another package reportedly had an envelope with a handwritten note hidden within the pages of a book.
Authorities indicated that hiding biological samples inside a book and shipping them is a common method of smuggling into the country.
According to authorities, Han arrived at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on a J1 visa on Sunday, June 8, where Customs and Border Protection officers conducted an inspection.
Through the use of a translator, she allegedly made false statements regarding the packages and the biological materials reportedly shipped to the United States. Additionally, authorities said the contents of her phone were wiped days before her arrival.
After providing several conflicting statements to officers, Han reportedly told Customs and Border Protection that she was a doctoral student coming to the University of Michigan to complete her research project and admitted to sending her research materials ahead of her arrival.
According to an affidavit, Han could not recall how many packages she had sent, estimating between five and ten, but mentioned that several were lost in transit according to Chinese couriers. Her professors at the University of Michigan and at HUST reportedly did not know the packages and did not instruct her to send them.
Han was taken into custody and is facing federal charges of smuggling and making false statements.
