Chinese Researcher Charged With Smuggling E. Coli Into the US

A lab technician holds a bacteria culture that shows a positive infection of enterohemorrhagic E. coli, also known as the EHEC bacteria, from a patient in a file photo. Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesA Chinese national with a temporary visa working as a biology researcher at Indiana University was charged with smuggling Escherichia coli (E. coli) and lying about it, FBI Director Kash Patel announced Friday.“This is yet another example of a researcher from China—given the privilege to work at a U.S. university—who then allegedly chose to take part in a scheme to circumvent U.S. laws and receive biological materials hidden in a package originating from China,” Patel wrote as part of a statement on X.