Chengxuan Han, a Chinese scholar who had been invited to conduct research at the University of Michigan Lab, entered a no-contest plea Tuesday in federal court to smuggling biological materials into the U.S. The U.S. requires permits to import such materials.
Han also pleaded no contest to a charge of making false statements to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. A no-contest plea means she accepts the conviction but does not plead or admit guilt.
“The guidelines for importing biological materials into the U.S. for research purposes are stringent but clear, and actions like this undermine the legitimate work of other visiting scholars,” Marty C. Raybon, division director of field operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Detroit field office, said in a statement. “We will not tolerate the smuggling of regulated biological materials through our ports of entry, and this case is another example of our commitment—along with that of our law enforcement partners—to protecting the homeland from any number of potential threats.”
Han, 28, a Chinese citizen, was pursuing a Ph.D. from the College of Life Science and Technology at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, China at the time of her arrest. As part of her studies, she had been invited to do research at U-M.
In 2024 and 2025, she sent multiple mislabeled packages containing biological materials to people affiliated with a laboratory at the University of Michigan, according to federal law enforcement documents filed in court.
“This alien from Wuhan, China, smuggled roundworms and other biomaterials into our country on three separate occasions to circumvent our border protections,” said interim Detroit U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. “One of those times, she wrote that she was sending ‘a fun letter.’ The University of Michigan invited this Chinese national into our state to be a visiting scholar, where it was going to pay her more than $41,000 a year to do her worm research at the Life Sciences Institute. Something is wrong in Ann Arbor.”
Han's arrest in June came just after federal charges were filed earlier in the month against another Chinese scholar, at the University of Michigan and her boyfriend, a scientific researcher, for allegedly conspiring to smuggle a dangerous biological pathogen into the U.S.—a pathogen authorities said was capable of damaging agricultural crops and causing illness in humans and livestock.
University of Michigan scholar Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, both Chinese citizens, were charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., and making false statements.
Jian faces a preliminary examination on Sept. 18. A court document indicates Jian’s attorney is involved in plea negotiations. Liu has returned to China.
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