DETROIT, MI – A Chinese scholar accused of smuggling a biological pathogen into the United States and lying to federal officials has pleaded guilty and will be deported.

Yunqing Jian, a 33-year-old University of Michigan doctoral student, pleaded guilty to smuggling and making false statements. A conspiracy to smuggle charge was dismissed for a guilty plea.

She was arrested alongside codefendant Zunyong Liu in June.

The two allegedly took part in smuggling a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which is considered an agroterrorism weapon, according to the journal Food Security.

Jian received Chinese government funding for her work on the pathogen in China, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Michigan.

Jian’s boyfriend, Liu, worked at a Chines

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