FBI Uncovers Alleged Chinese Agroterrorism Plot Targeting U.S. Food Supply

In a significant national security development, the FBI charges two Chinese researchers, Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu, with attempting to smuggle a dangerous crop-killing fungus into the United States. The fungus, Fusarium graminearum, causes Fusarium head blight—a disease that devastates staple crops such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. It also produces mycotoxins harmful to both humans and animals, potentially leading to vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive complications.

According to the unsealed complaint filed in the Eastern District of Michigan, Liu was apprehended at Detroit Metropolitan. . .