Chinese scientist will have transported the pathogen agent visiting his girlfriend. He says he went to study at the university, but the FBI suspected of history.
A biological pathogenic agent likely to be used as a weapon of agricultural terrorism was found in the US, the FBI said.
It is the fusarium graminearum, a fungus known for transporting “Head Prague”, which destroys cultures and costs the economy millions of dollars a year.
Zunyong Liu, 34, a Chinese investigator, who will have taken the fungus to the United States while visiting his girlfriend, 33, July 2024.
According to the FBI complaint, he admitted to having taken the fungus to be able to make observations in a laboratory of the University of Michigan, where his girlfriend worked, advances the. However, initially, Liu said he was unaware of the samples.
Cheyvoryea Gibson, a special agent responsible for the FBI field cabinet in Detroit, told the duo’s actions “constitute an imminent threat to public safety.”
This is because the fungus causes vomiting, liver lesions and reproductive defects In humans and animals, according to the FBI.
The FBI also reported that the authorities found a scientific article on the Liu mobile phone entitled “War between plants and pathogenic agents under change climatic conditions“.
US Attorney General Jerome Gorgon Jr., described the fungus smuggling to the United States as a concern for “national security”, and underlined the fact that Jian was a member of the Chinese Communist Party.
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, promised last week to “aggressively revoke the visas” of Chinese students, as the Chinese government classifies as “discriminatory.”
