No. of Recommendations: 2
From the description (and other news coverage), it appears they were smuggling in roundworms that are used in research. That's a crime, of course, because we have strict regulation on importing various animals and insects in order to prevent nuisance species and pests. But it doesn't make the materials "bioweapons," or engaging in that kind of smuggling "bioterror."
Roundworms cause some $170-ish Billion a year in damages. There have also been Chinese caught smuggling certain fungi into the US.
“At some point, pattern becomes practice. And, apparently, these three men are part of a long and alarming pattern of criminal activities committed by Chinese Nationals under the cover of the University of Michigan. This is a threat to our collective security. We are thankful for the vigilance of our elite federal partners—ICE HSI, FBI, and CBP—as a counterweight against this threat,” said United States Attorney Gorgon.
As for this:
Is there something in there that specifically claims that these are substances that can be used as bioweapons, or that this has anything to do with bioterror?
I'm sure there is a perfectly innocent explanation why the University Of Michigan keeps having the incidents where their researchers keep smuggling potentially harmful things into the United States. In fact, there's never been any kind of instance where CCP-connected entities are running illegal bio labs in the US either, come to think of it.
