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A citizen from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been apprehended on charges of smuggling biological substances into the United States and misleading U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers regarding the nature of her shipments.
The Department of Justice said Chengxuan Han is charged with smuggling goods into the U.S. and making false statements.
The complaint states that Han is a national of the PRC pursuing her Ph.D. at the College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, located in Wuhan.
It is claimed that Han dispatched four packages from the PRC to the U.S. during 2024 and 2025, which contained hidden biological substances. These packages were addressed to people associated with a laboratory at the University of Michigan.
A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A North Korean citizen was sentenced to 45 months in a U.S. prison Friday in connection with money laundering and other schemes to evade U.S. sanctions. (REUTERS/Edgar Su)
He also obtained sensitive technology with the intention of sending it to North Korea. The technology, the DOJ said, included a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive or interfering transmissions.
The DOJ added that he also acquired or offered to acquire a civilian airplane engine and thermal imaging system that could be mounted on a drone or some other aircraft for reconnaissance and target identification.
North Korean officials wired Wen about $2 million during the operation, to be used for obtaining firearms and other goods.
Ultimately, he admitted during the plea agreement that he knew it was illegal to ship the items to North Korea, while also admitting to never having the necessary licenses to ship the ammunition, firearms and sensitive technology to North Korea.
Wen also confessed to working at the direction of North Korean officials and did not provide notification to the Attorney General of the U.S.
As part of the agreement, Wen faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for violating the IEEPA and 10 years for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 18.
