DETROIT — A pair of Chinese citizens have been charged after allegedly smuggling a deadly fungus into the United States through Detroit Metro Airport to apparently study it at the University of Michigan.
The U.S. Department of Justice says Yunqing Jian and Zunyoung Liu, a couple, smuggled a sample of ‘head blight’ through the airport with the intention of studying it at a University of Michigan lab.
‘Head Blight’ can destroy wheat, barley, maize and rice plants. It can also cause illness in humans.
Jian had been given funding from the Chinese government to study the pathogen. Her boyfriend, Zunyoung Liu, had access to the university’s lab by way of being a researcher there.
Their alleged intentions at the lab remain unclear.
Yunqing Jian appeared in a federal court this afternoon.
Northern Michigan’s News Leader will keep you updated on this case as it progresses.