Chinese Researcher Accused of Trying to Smuggle Biological Material Out of US
A Chinese researcher was arrested in Boston on suspicion of stealing vials of biological samples, according to court documents unsealed on Dec. 19.
Customs officials stopped Zheng Xiaosong for questioning at Boston Logan International Airport on Dec. 9, upon flagging him as “a high risk for possibly exporting undeclared biological material,” a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent said in an affidavit filed with the Massachusetts district court on Dec. 12.
Zheng, a 29-year-old researcher at the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital in China’s southern province of Guangdong, came to Harvard University’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as a visiting graduate student in pathology. He was heading to Beijing at the time of the arrest.
An examination of Zheng’s checked bags found 21 vials of unknown brown liquid wrapped in a plastic bag and hidden in a sock, the document said, adding that both typed and handwritten descriptions and notes accompanied the vials.
“These vials contained what appeared to be biological materials that were not properly declared or packaged for transportation in commercial aircraft,” the agent said.
According to the document, the FBI has seized the unknown samples for further examination.
The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinese-researcher-investigated-for-allegedly-trying-to-smuggle-out-vials-of-biological-material_3183421.html