FBI charges Chinese researcher on US visa with smuggling E. coli into the United States

A post-doctoral researcher on a U.S. visa was charged with smuggling Escherichia coli into the country and making false statements about it, the FBI said Friday. The agency identified the researcher as Youhuang Xiang, but did not name the university involved.

Patel said the charges reflect a broader pattern of researchers from China who use the privilege of working at U.S. universities to obtain biological materials in ways that circumvent U.S. laws. "This is yet another example of a researcher from China, given the privilege to work at a U.S. university, who then allegedly chose to take part in a scheme to circumvent U.S. laws and receive biological materials hidden in a package originating from China," Patel wrote on X.

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Patel noted that the risk extends beyond a single incident. He said, "If not properly controlled, E. coli and other biological materials could inflict devastating disease to U.S. crops and cause significant financial loss to the U.S. economy." The FBI director praised the bureau’s Indianapolis and Chicago field offices for their work on the case and thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection for its role. He also urged universities to reinforce licensing compliance, stressing that researchers must follow the lawful process for importing and exporting approved biological materials.

This case comes amid a string of enforcement actions targeting visa-holders accused of smuggling materials for research. In November, the Justice Department charged three Chinese nationals—Xu Bai, 28; Fengfan Zhang, 27; and Zhiyong Zhang, 30—who were participating in J‑1 visa academic exchanges at the University of Michigan’s Shawn Xu Laboratory. They were accused of conspiring to smuggle biological materials related to roundworms from China and of making false statements to CBP officers to import what they described as educational materials. The materials were allegedly shipped by a Chinese Ph.D. student in Wuhan, Chengxuan Han, who had previously worked at the university and was later convicted of smuggling and making false statements.

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Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born scientist and Harvard University cancer researcher, faced a separate federal case in February when she was detained at Boston Logan International Airport for allegedly smuggling frog embryos. Her attorney said the embryos were requested by a French laboratory collaborating with Harvard, and that Petrova did not realize she needed to declare them. She was released from federal custody in June. In a DHS post, officials said the case began with a claim that Petrova "was lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country." The department characterized the episode as part of broader scrutiny of undeclared biological materials entering the United States.

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates as authorities continue to review broader patterns in visa programs and laboratory access across U.S. universities.