China's government intervened and helped get charges dropped against three Chinese scientists at the University of Michigan who were accused of helping a colleague smuggle biological materials into the U.S., defence lawyers said.
U.S. accuses two Chinese researchers of smuggling in 'potential agroterrorism weapon'
The materials turned out to be mostly tiny, transparent worms — nothing dangerous — though U.S. officials last year hailed the arrests as a victory for national security.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the government must be vigilant when foreign nationals try to “advance a malicious agenda.” Xu Bai and Fengfan Zhang were charged with conspiring to help another scientist who shipped packages to them from China before she arrived in 2025 for temporary lab research at the University of Michigan. A third man, Zhiyong Zhang, was charged with making false statements to authorities.
Bai, Zhang and Zhang were in jail for more than three months while the case was pending in federal court in Detroit. A judge suddenly dismissed the charges on Feb 5 at the Justice Department's request and the three traveled home to China.
