DETROIT – A Chinese student at the University of Michigan pleaded no contest Tuesday to smuggling charges following her arrest at Detroit Metro Airport in June.
Background: Chinese student accused of smuggling biological materials arrested at Detroit Metro Airport
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According to authorities, Chengxuan Han is pursuing a Ph.D. at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China. She reportedly sent four packages from China containing concealed biological materials to two people working in a University of Michigan laboratory.
Han initially gave several conflicting statements to officers but later told Customs and Border Protection she was a doctoral student coming to the University of Michigan to complete her research project. She admitted to sending her research materials ahead of her arrival.
All four packages were reportedly manifested improperly and did not contain the correct documentation for them to be imported.
All four packages were improperly manifested and lacked the correct documentation for importation. One package was labeled as plastic plates but allegedly contained eight petri dishes with biological materials. Another package reportedly included an envelope with a handwritten note hidden inside a book.
Through the use of a translator, she allegedly made false statements regarding the packages and the biological materials reportedly shipped to the United States.
Han pleaded no contest Tuesday, Aug. 19, to three smuggling charges and to making false statements to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 10.