Chinese student arrested for allegedly smuggling undeclared biological materials seen in new mugshot
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Authorities have released a mugshot of the Chinese national accused of smuggling undeclared biological material into the United States. 

Chengxuan Han was initially scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday to face charges of smuggling goods into the U.S. and making false statements, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. However, her detention hearing was cut short after her court-appointed attorney requested more time due to “some additional matters pertinent to the issue of bond.” 

Han is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Ph.D. student at Wuhan’s College of Life Science and Technology in the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). 

Han is the third Chinese national arrested this month for allegedly smuggling items into the US. University of Michigan post-doctoral research fellow Yunqing Jian and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, were arrested after allegedly bringing an “agroterrorism agent”m into the U.S. to study at a University of Michigan laboratory.

Devices seized from Chinese national's California home

Devices seized from Wen’s home.  (Justice Department)

In 2023, Wen shipped at least three containers of firearms from a California port to China, with North Korea as the ultimate destination, by filing false export information to conceal the contents of the containers. 

Wen used money from a North Korean contact to purchase many of the firearms in Texas before driving them back to California to be shipped, according to the DOJ.

By December 2023, one of the shipments departed the Port of Long Beach and arrived in Hong Kong one month later, with it eventually arriving in North Korea. 

Wen also obtained sensitive technology to send to North Korea, according to prosecutors. The technology consisted of a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive or interfering transmissions and a chemical threat identification device. 

He also looked to acquire a civilian airplane engine and thermal imaging system to be mounted on a drone or aircraft for target identification. 

The entire scheme cost North Korean officials approximately $2 million in wire transfers to Wen, with the funds being used to procure firearms and other goods for the government. 

Wen faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for both charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 18. 

Fox News’ Patrick McGovern, Greg Wehner and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report. 

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